30 n MACHINE-BUILDING April 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com Machines check composite aerospace parts ultrasonically Companies that manufacture composite components and structures for aerospace applications require nished parts to be inspected to ensure that they are free of defects. As aircraft-makers strive to save weight, cut costs and boost e ciency, the amount of composite materials they use has increased signi cantly. And as manufacturing techniques evolve, composite parts are becoming larger and more complex, requiring larger and more capable equipment to inspect the parts. One company that specialises in designing and producing such test equipment is Aldershot-based Ultrasonic Sciences Limited (USL). For 40 years, it has been supplying bespoke automated NDT (non-destructive testing) inspection systems and PC-based instrumentation. During this time, thousands of its machines have been installed around the globe supporting a wide range of applications. The 25-strong company has customers in sectors such as aerospace, automotive, energy and manufacturing. Its systems oer precision quality control and material integrity analysis. During the pandemic, USL was tasked with designing, building and installing a 12-axis dual tower machine and an 11-axis gantry machine for inspecting structures and components for Boeing aircraft. “Custom-built machines such as these are preferred to standard o-the-shelf designs due to being an exact t for requirements, exibility and scalability, their enhanced accuracy and performance and specialised capabilities,”says USL’s technical sales manager, Niko Bayer. “For all of our automated inspection machines, key considerations for motionrelated components such as motors, are precision and accuracy, resolution, speed control, torque, load capacity, closed-loop control, communication interfaces, safety features and longevity,”he adds. “Mechanical systems for automated ultrasonic inspection machines are often subject to long use periods, repetitive motion and regular changes of direction, often in humid environments.” The dual-sided machine performs simultaneous transmitted light and pulse echo (both sides) inspection of aerospace composite components. With large scan areas and a variety of specialised end-eectors, it can inspect large components with complex shapes, including leading edges and ap track fairings and thick sandwich construction parts. These need to be inspected thoroughly, while meeting the end-user’s rigorous mechanical accuracy and ultrasonic requirements. For the machines’motion components, USL tuned to Stober which was able to oer an integrated package from servo ampli ers to rack-and-pinion gears. Among other things, Stober supplied: linear and rotary axes; servomotors in various sizes; servodrive ampli ers; servo gearboxes; and single-cable motor connections up to 100m long. One reason that USL chose Stober was its ability to oer shorter lead times than rival suppliers. “One feature we had with previous motors was the ability to implement friction feedforward values above 100%,”Bayer reports. “By anticipating and counteracting the eects of friction, systems with this feature can achieve smoother, more accurate motion especially in applications that require precise positioning. On discussing this, Stober were happy to implement our requirements into its SC6 ampli ers to allow this feed-forward value up to 200%, which aorded us the ability to tune our machine axes for exceptional positioning.” Stober also supplied integrated geared servomotors without a motor adapter, making installation easier due to its compact design, low weight and high power density. “The team was also very helpful when specifying machines, assisting with speed, torque and load calculations,” Bayer adds. “Our motors and ampli ers were sized and selected in conjunction with USL to optimise performance depending on the drive transmission either rack-and-pinion, ballscrew or direct-drive, depending on the speci c requirements,”explains Martin Preece, head of Stober’s UK operation. Bayer and his team often use a combination of these for dierent axes on the same machine to achieve the required precision and reliability. Both machines have now been installed and commissioned at a facility that inspects Boeing aircraft structures and components. They have exceeded all accuracy requirements. n A UK company that specialises in ultrasonic inspection systems has designed a pair of machines that test composite structures and components for Boeing aircraft. The machines’ motion control systems are critical to their successful operation. USL’s machine tests large composite components ultrasonically for an aerospace customer
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