Robotic Ultrasonic Inspection

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) covers a range of techniques that assess the quality of a component without causing damage to the part. NDT is used across industries such as aerospace, oil and gas, nuclear, power generation, medical, rail and general manufacturing, to name a few. It is a crucial aspect of quality control and ultimately health and safety. Ultrasonic testing uses high frequency sound to detect discontinuities, such as defects, in components or structures. Historically, parts with high curvature or intricate shape have been inspected manually, which can be time consuming and lead to inconsistent results.

Robotic ultrasonic inspection - see our video for a visualisation of the new system

Intacom

The Intacom programme is a series of projects based on the development of robotic inspection systems that is being led by TWI’s Advanced Non-destructive Testing Centre in Port Talbot, South Wales. The programme’s overall aim is to reduce the cost of inspection of complex geometry components for the aerospace industry. The first phases of the project delivered a prototype automated inspection cell using two 6-axis robot arms to inspect highly curved components in a fraction of the time usually taken by other automated NDT systems. It incorporated custom developed advanced ultrasonic testing technology to provide 3D imaging of parts that, in many cases, could not be inspected in any other way.

TWI’s Advanced Non-destructive Testing Centre in Port Talbot, South Wales.

Latest phase of the project

The latest phase of the project incorporates a robot cell containing much larger robots and additional axes such as 14m tracks and a 4m turntable. The combined axes allow the robots to inspect large components such as car chassis, wing spar sections and aircraft engine casings. Each robot can work independently for pulse-echo inspections or in cooperation for through-transmission inspections. To couple the ultrasound to the component, water jets are used which removes the need for the robots to make contact with the part under test. Advanced path planning software is used to generate scan paths and check for collisions, using CAD models to simulate the real environment.

In order to maintain positional accuracy over such a large area, and to cope with variability in part shape and positioning within the cell, a combination of metrology systems is being developed. Laser line scanners are deployed to generate surface profiles of real parts where CAD data is not available (such as for legacy parts) or does not sufficiently match the final part shape. A photogrammetry system using eight waterproof cameras is used to monitor robot position and track movement, enabling any deviation from the intended paths to be identified and providing the option to make real time adjustments to the scan paths.

Advantages over conventional ultrasonic testing

The new robotic inspection facility offers a number of significant advantages over conventional ultrasonic testing:

6 degrees of freedom probe movement to inspect complex geometry parts
Advanced ultrasonic imaging, visualised in a 3D environment and overlaid on CAD
Fast inspection speeds
Flexible and adaptable robot cell which can quickly be modified to inspect new parts
Off-line path planning for visualisation and collision avoidance
Repeatability of up to 0.1mm
Ability to use a number of ultrasonic probes, depending on the application

This project is part of an initiative known as the Advanced Engineering Materials Research Institute (AEMRI), which is funded by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO) using European Regional Development Funds (ERDF).

Prof Ian Cooper CEng FInstNDT MWeldI Technology Fellow - Advanced NDE

Prof Cooper is a Chartered Engineer and Technology Fellow with over 34 years’ experience in Non-destructive testing (NDT). On joining TWI in 2005 at the Advanced NDT Centre in Port Talbot, he specialised in NDT of composites. More recently, his work has concentrated on advanced NDT methods and automated robotic inspection systems. He leads the highly successful IntACOM programme developing rapid automated inspection systems for complex geometries, and is the NDE Group Technology Strategy Manager. In 2016 he and co-authors were awarded the John Grimwade Medal for a paper on this work and he was made an Honorary Professor of Practice at the University of Wales, Trinity St David. In 2019, he received the Anne Birt award for technology innovation and strategy. With effect from 1st January 2023 he is President of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing and is active and influential on a number of other committees that guide the development, application, training and certification of NDT.

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