Wichita State University

Caleb Saathoff

John S Tomblin

Christopher Pini

Waruna Seneviratne

Upul Palliyaguru

John Matthew Tomblin

A laser shearography end effector for inspection in an automated inspection and repair system for composite parts. A laser shearography system including an excitation system and a laser shearography camera is supported on a frame for movement with the frame. A slave tool changer is secured to the frame for releasably and operatively connecting the inspection tool to an industrial robot such that the industrial robot can move the inspection tool along a work piece as the laser shearography system inspects the work piece and such that the laser shearography end effector is interchangeable with at least one other automatic inspection end effector or repair end effector of the automated inspection and repair system.

Laser shearography end effector for industrial robot system

A robot end effector for surface preparation in an automated inspection and repair system for composite parts has an end effector body and a plasma control unit and a plasma jet nozzle supported on the end effector body. The plasma control unit directs a jet of atmospheric plasma through the plasma jet nozzle. A slave tool changer is secured to the end effector body. The slave tool changer releasably and operatively connects the robot end effector to an industrial robot such that the industrial robot can move the robot end effector along a composite part as the plasma control unit directs a jet of atmospheric plasma through the plasma jet nozzle toward the composite part to clean the composite part and increase a surface free energy of the composite part.

Surface preparation end effector for industrial robot system and inspection and repair processes

An autonomous or semi-autonomous cell for inspecting composite parts, verifying repairs made to such parts, and facilitating repairs to composite parts. The cell employs automated inspection, damage assessment, and repair systems. An industrial robot automatically attaches to a set of interchangeable inspection and repair end effectors to carry out the inspection, verification, and repair processes. The cell can be equipped with fixtures for supporting a rotorcraft blade and rotating the blade within the cell so that the robot can access the entire blade. Processes are provided for performing inspections, tracking the inspection data for parts in a database, and carrying out repairs. Over time, a software applicant can use the inspection data to train a machine learning model for recognizing damage to the composite part based on inspection images.

Growing community of inventors

Wichita, KS, United States of America

Caleb Saathoff