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1. Engine Innovations
Company: GE Aerospace
Product: 1A) GE Aerospace has developed a range of robotics technologies with applications for MRO, including engine inspections, repairs and cleaning. One of the most recent is artificial intelligence (AI) guided white light robot inspections, which use two articulated industrial robots outfitted with white light optical scanners to detect defects on high-precision engine parts. The system uses AI to capture and analyze data while creating a digital record of the part’s condition.
1B) GE also offers a robotic nondestructive inspection device that uses open-beam X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to detect microstructural variations in metal parts. The technology—also used by museums and auction houses to identify forged artwork—provides a view of an object’s chemical composition, allowing technicians to spot part anomalies more easily.
1C) Last year, GE developed a wormlike robot called Sensiworm that uses untethered soft robotics technology. Sensiworm can move easily through the nooks and crannies of jet engine parts to detect defects and corrosion, as well as to measure the thickness of an engine’s thermal barrier coatings.
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2. Material Removal
Company: Kane Robotics
Product: Kane Robotics develops collaborative robotic (cobot) systems for material removal applications such as sanding, grinding and polishing. Aerospace customers such as OEMs and suppliers use these systems for tasks such as removing coatings from helicopter main rotor blades and sanding and polishing aircraft transparencies. Last year, Kane Robotics launched its GRIT cobot for composites sanding. GRIT comes in three sizes to accommodate a variety of jobs, and the system combines AI with visual sensors to automate its accuracy and speed.
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3. Accelerating MRO Processes
Company: RTX
Product: Aerospace and defense conglomerate RTX is deploying a wide variety of robotic technologies across its Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney subsidiaries.
Collins Aerospace is using several robotics technologies in Singapore. At its nacelle MRO facility there, the company has created a robotic machine vision system called Spot that works alongside human operators to conduct automatic inventory inspections for Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM buildup quick engine change kits. Collins says Spot can inspect 159 items for the kit within 20 min.
- Watch the Collins Aerospace robotic IDG inspection process
- Watch the Collins Aerospace robot transporting parts
3A) Collins’ Singapore evacuation slide and cargo system MRO facility is using an Autonomous Mobile Robot on wheels to transport parts around the shop floor. The company says this has helped reduce turnaround times on these systems by 10%.
3B) At its MRO facilities in Singapore and Dijon, France, Collins has deployed Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) arms that perform final inspections of integrated drive generators. The AOI automatically captures, identifies and categorizes the generator’s features, then summarizes the results and alerts technicians of any defects. Collins says the AOIs have helped reduce final inspection times by 20%.
3C) Pratt & Whitney’s Eagle Services Asia engine center in Singapore is using a robot called Alfred to assemble high-pressure compressor rotors for the PW1100G-JM, which it says has cut assembly time in half. Alfred will soon be joined next year by a robot called Athena that will perform part of the main engine build sequence.
3D) Pratt & Whitney is using a Receive-in-Check cobot to photograph engine components automatically when they arrive at an engine center. Previously, technicians had to take approximately 60 photos manually with handheld cameras—a process that was prone to inconsistencies in image size, angle and clarity. Pratt says the cobot has reduced the time taken for this type of inspection by 4 hr. per engine and reduced the workload by 90%.
3E) Pratt & Whitney is also using a robotic arm to stack high-pressure compressor rotors automatically. It says automating this process protects operators from the weight and heat involved in assembly and has shortened processing time by 50%.
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