Flexible Arm Non-Contact Interferometric Coordinate Measurement System

ABSTRACT: To address the Air Force need for a more accurate and fast technology for key characteristics measurements in the advanced aircraft assembly process, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Flexible Arm Non-Contact Interferometric Coordinates Measurement System (FANCI CMS). This proposed system is based on a combination of a highly accurate flexible arm with a novel ruggedized, compact, and lightweight interferometric sensor as well as several new and commercially available software packages. The innovation in the system design will allow for repeatability in achieving the required measurement accuracy while significantly accelerating measurement procedures and reducing labor consumption. The flexibility and compactness of the FANCI CMS will allow for fast and reliable key characteristics measurements in difficult-to-access areas. This lightweight system will be easily mountable on the assembly line and will require only one minute for calibration of its position. In Phase I POC will demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system by assembling a laboratory prototype and demonstrating its operation on representative portions of airframe at an MRL-4 level. In Phase II, POC plans to develop this system to MRL-7 to be ready for its integration into the manufacturing process. BENEFIT: The proposed FANCI CMS will improve quality of the aircraft assembly and will save many hours of skilled labor needed for the currently used measurement technology, resulting in multi-million-dollar savings to the Air Force and taxpayers. The proposed highly flexible and convenient to use system with improved accuracy will find numerous applications in various industries for parts inspection, process control, and quality control. The developed user-friendly software package will support any quality control system both in large and small businesses, facilitating improvement in the quality and competitiveness of American-made products.