Innovative quality control of aerospace composite parts

Kongsberg Defence Systems from Norway is a high-end manufacturer for aerospace materials like honeycomb structures and other composite technologies. As a main supplier for big names in the industry like Lockheed Martin, it is mandatory to carry out sophisticated quality control. To further enhance the X-ray inspection capacities Kongsberg invested into the high-end seven axis manipulation system XRHGantry from VisiConsult.

This Gantry system is specifically designed for big aerostructures like winglets, honeycombs and rudders or complex structures like welded pipes out of titanium. With dozens of installations worldwide, the XRHGantry is one of the most advanced and flexible roof mounted X-ray inspection system in the aerospace sector. It allows manufacturers to transition from analogue film to digital detectors to increase efficiency and save money.

A cornerstone in digital X-ray inspection are demanding quality standards like ASTM 2737, ASTM 2597, NADCAP, EN-17636, BSS7042 and many more. Therefore, VisiConsult developed a comprehensive automatic qualification toolbox that determines all parameters through the use of a DR Phantom: Spatial resolution, CNR, SNR and dead pixel map are evaluated through a single click.

As a supplier of customised solutions, VisiConsult implemented many special features for Kongsberg Defence Systems. For example, the foldable inspection room is saving a lot of space in comparison to known X-ray protection bunkers. It also gives flexibility as the whole system can be moved at any time. The XRHGantry itself can be modified in terms of dimension and layout depending on the inspection task, while common inspection processes are simply automated through CNC controlled sequences.