A Defect and Damage Inspection Tool for Incoming Part Inspection

Part-inspection systems used in aerospace manufacturing and aircraft sustainment need to be highly responsive to changing requirements and flexible specifications. Inspections of incoming production parts for the F35 program need to differentiate inconsequential defects from damage that may affect the composite part viability. Unfortunately, the current manual approaches used are time-consuming and manually intensive. As a result, parts are scrapped unnecessarily, adding to per aircraft cost and extending delivery schedules. Creare’s Defect Measurement Tool (DMT) leverages the measurement technology used in our pioneering Fastener Measurement Tool (FMT™), to create a digital record of both the extent and, if needed, location of defects, and damage. By leveraging the hardware and software development expertise for the commercially-available FMT we will rapidly develop a tool that will accurately measure the extent, depth, and, if needed, location of exterior damage on composite parts supplied to the system integrator for F35 manufacturing. Building on prior work, we will also further develop the DMT for F35 sustainment activities, for which the damage profiles are significantly broader (e.g., hail damage, impact damage, fastener fill loss, coating defects).