The Boeing Company

Ronald E VonWahlde

Martin L Freet

Gary E Georgeson

James C Kennedy

Michael D Fogarty

Michael Robert Chapman

Dennis P Sarr

William Joseph Tapia

James J Troy

Scott Wesley Lea

Barry Allen Fetzer

Daniel James Wright

William Paul Motzer

Jeffrey G Thompson

Hien T Bui

Steven Ray Walton

Michael J Duncan

Jeffry J Garvey

Michael C Hutchinson

Mark L Little

Richard C Krotzer

David W Anderson

A system and method that allow inspection of hollow structures made of composite material, such as an integrally stiffened wing box of an aircraft. A wing box comprises top and bottom skins connected by a plurality of spaced spars. The system employs a plurality of scanners for inspecting different portions of each spar. The system uses dynamically controlled magnetic coupling to connect an external drive tractor to computer-controlled scanners that carry respective sensors, e.g., linear ultrasonic transducer arrays. A system operator can control the various components by means of a graphical user interface comprising multiple interaction regions that represent the individual scanner motion paths and are associated with respective motion script files.

Automated inspection of soft-tooled hollow structure

Methods and systems are provided for measuring a thickness of an object. A first portion of a device is positioned on a first side of the object, and a second portion of the device is positioned on an opposite side of the object. The first portion includes at least one first mount and at least one eddy current sensor coupled to the first mount. The second portion includes at least one second mount and at least one target coupled to the second mount. The first mount is magnetically coupled to the second mount such that the eddy current sensor is oriented to interact with the target to enable the thickness of the object to be measured.

Method and system for measuring the thickness of an object

A hat stringer inspection device permits continuous inspection of hat stringers as one or more probes are moved along the length of the hat stringer. Probes may be magnetically coupled to opposing surfaces of the structure, including, for example, where one of the probes is positioned inside the hat stringer and the probes are magnetically coupled across the surface of the hat stringer. The device may be autonomous with a feedback-controlled motor to drive the inspection device along the hat stringer. Magnetic coupling is also used to re-orient the position and/or alignment of the probes with respect to changes in the hat stringer or shapes, sizes, and configurations of hat stingers.

Non-destructive stringer inspection apparatus and method

Growing community of inventors

Puyallup, WA, United States of America

Ronald E VonWahlde