Airbus France

Airbus Corporation

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company Eads France

Guillaume Ithurralde

Nicolas Colin

Louis Le Pinru

Pierre Barbeau

A process for marking the real position and real orientation of a tool in relation to the manipulator arm of a robot. The process utilizes the amplitude measurements of acoustic signals and the flight time measurement of the acoustic waves emitted by an acoustic probe of the tool and reflected by the fixed reference elements. The position of the center of reference of the probe relative to the end of the manipulator arm is determined. The axes X and Y defining the plane of the probe along reference axes X' and Y&#x2032; of known orientations are oriented so that the modification of the position and of the orientation of the probe in the reference frame can be defined. The displacements of the manipulator arm are managed by the controller based on the position of the probe in relation to the manipulator arm and the reference orientation of the probe.

Marking of the tool center and of the orientation of an acoustic probe in a reference frame, by ultrasound method

A method for inspecting a part by a non-destructive ultrasound inspection, the part is immersed in an acoustic wave conducting medium and an incident ultrasound wave having a wide beam of section &#x3a3; is emitted into the ultrasound-conducting medium towards the part. The characteristics of the waves reflected by faces of the part to be inspected are measured on at least a small section &#x3c3;, the characteristic dimensions of which are substantially less than those of the section &#x3a3;. The location of the section or sections &#x3c3; is determined such that, despite the possible variations of the position of the part and the relative slopes of its faces, the section &#x3c3; is always located in the volumes passed through by the reflected waves, for example substantially in an area close to the axis of the incident beam when the incident beam is controlled to be oriented substantially in a direction perpendicular to a face of the part.

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Colomiers, France

Guillaume Ithurralde