As the aerospace industry in Canada and around the world continues to increase its use of automated composite manufacturing techniques to produce large aircraft components, the industry is eager to find solutions to manufacture reliable, safe, and cost effective composite structures. The National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and Fives are working together to improve the [...]
Industrial inspections, regardless of the reason for inspection, can be a very dirty and dangerous job. While not necessarily dull, industrial inspections definitely cover two of the three D’s (dull, dirty, and dangerous) of robotics deployment. Industrial inspections can range from inspecting operational assets and operational facilities to inspecting defunct facilities during the de-commissioning process or [...]
Walk into the offices of Houston’s DroneWorks Studios in a renovated warehouse north of downtown, and the first thing that catches your eye is Janet. That’s the name given to a massive, 165-pound, 16-rotor drone mounted on a wall, wrapped in multicolor LED lights, nearly reaching from floor to ceiling. Janet could be taken down from [...]
Aero-engine disc components such as bearing rings, fan and compressor discs are typically inspected at different stage of manufacturing from their pre-formed to final machined shape. Engine bearing are among components that are inspected at different manufacturing stage, from dimensional controls to the detection of the tiniest surface flaws on rolling surfaces (bearing raceways). Complementary NDT [...]
Industrial infrastructure components undergo time-dependent material and property degradation associated with thermomechanical loads (temperature, pressures, dynamic loads) and operating environments (corrosive media, H2) which influences the structural integrity, and in rare scenarios lead to failure. The traditional approach has been to schedule periodic inspections to evaluate defect size, location and statistics which is represented as solid [...]
LMI Technologies (LMI), the global leader in 3D scanning and inspection, is pleased to announce the official release of three new game-changing products. All three were displayed at Vision 2018 in Stuttgart. Gocator® 2500 Smart Laser Profiler Series - Blazing Speed With dedicated FPGA processing, advanced optics, and a high speed 2.4 MP custom camera, the [...]
Eckhart, Inc. announced today that it has acquired PRI Robotics & Automation, a specialty robotic systems integrator located in Plymouth, Minnesota. Eckhart is an Industry 4.0 leader that designs, builds, and integrates turn-key systems for the largest industrial companies in the world. Eckhart’s suite of solutions includes AUTOCRAFT™ autonomous guided vehicles, collaborative robotics, 3D printing, automated [...]
Current worker shortages nationwide have begun changing community conversations about the future of the next generation and the value of trade-based occupations, according to Kate Lufkin with the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce. On Wednesday, Flathead High School sophomores, juniors and seniors got the opportunity to explore some of those trades through hands-on learning with professors at [...]
Imaging and machine vision technology is under more pressure than ever to meet the increasingly demanding needs of a diverse set of markets, and truly understanding imaging is becoming quite the valuable skill. The first part of this article series reviewed how to create a specification to meet your application need and finding the proper balance [...]
In May of 1940, Floyd Firestone, a Professor in the department of Physics at the University of Michigan, filed US patent 2280226 in which he described an instrument for the detection of flaws and measuring thickness in metal objects. Dr. Firestone used the term "Supersonic Vibration Waves" to describe what we now refer to as pulse-echo [...]