Rapid Advanced Non-Contact Measurement System

ABSTRACT: To address the Air Force (and Northrop Grumman Aerospace System) need for a rapid, advanced noncontact measurement system that automatically makes critical measurements of as-machined features of F-35 skin panels in the existing Droop+Rein Precision Milling Machine (PMM) at Northrop, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop the Rapid Advanced Noncontact Measurement System (RANMS). The proposed system is based on an innovative combination of an existing POC-developed metrology tool (Low Coherence Interferometric Scanning System) with commercial off-the-shelf metrology tools from Hexagon Metrology, the world"s largest metrology company. The innovative combination of these established metrology tools along with a unique software integration that provides seamless interaction with the established Northrop Manufacturing Engineering and QA/QC databases will enable the RANMS to take all critical measurements on a pallet completely covered with skin panels in no more than 10 minutes additional PMM machine time versus the current extra three hours, directly addressing the requirements in the solicitation. In Phase I, POC and Hexagon will demonstrate RANMS at MRL 4 within 6 months of the start of the program. Phase II will culminate in an MRL 7 demonstration of RANMS at Northrop"s facilities in El Segundo. BENEFIT: POC"s LCISS measurement system is revolutionary in industrial metrologynothing with its capability exists on the market today. The speed and precision of LCISS are unsurpassed and the automation and time-savings that can occur in every large-scale manufacturing sector in the world due to LCISS will put U.S. precision high-rate manufacturing back in the forefront of the globe. Our burgeoning relationship with Hexagon Metrology (who owns Leica) with Hexagon"s market presence being the largest metrology company in the world, and POC"s LCISS system, which is revolutionary in metrology, puts the POC/Hexagon team in the cat-bird seat in large-scale industrial metrology. Literally millions of current metrology systems stand to be upgraded to POC"s LCISS metrology system, making U.S. manufacturing again competitive with all other areas of the world.