The new Atos 5 for Airfoil complements the Atos 5 family in the measuring range for small components. While the Atos 5, as an all-rounder, successfully performs a wide range of measuring tasks in measuring fields from 170 to 1,000 mm in length, the Atos 5X is particularly suitable for large surfaces and components thanks to its strong, focused light. It demonstrates this in the automotive industry, for example, where even entire car bodies are quickly digitized.

The rotating turbine blades in turbines, like the rigid structures that guide the air, are exposed to enormous forces and are therefore susceptible to wear. The performance of the aircraft engine or the electricity yield achieved is only stable if they function optimally in terms of flow technology. To achieve this, small manufacturing tolerances must be monitored and adhered to during production, maintenance and repair.

With the introduction of a 3D measuring machine specifically for small components with a size of 100 x 70 ^mm2 to 400 x 300 ^mm2, GOM is closing the previous gap in the lower measuring field. According to the company, the Atos 5 for Airfoil is also particularly suitable for inspecting turbine components produced for the aerospace industry, such as blades, blisks and air-guiding structures. Their complex-shaped edges and surfaces previously posed a challenge for 3D digitization. The Atos 5 for Airfoil also shows its strength in the maintenance and repair of turbine guide vanes. The cost of a new blade that has to be replaced due to defects is over 10,000 euros. If the defects in the component can be repaired using digital reverse engineering, for example in metal 3D printing, considerable savings can be made.

With the launch of Atos 5 for Airfoil, GOM is also offering the associated software update. The 2019 versions of Atos Professional and GOM Inspect Professional feature new modules that make it even easier to analyze challenging edge geometries, among other things.

A scan in a measuring position takes only 0.2 seconds, 120 images per second can be triggered. © GOM

Common to all scanners in the product family are the high digitization speed and the high precision of the measured data. A scan in one measuring position takes just 0.2 seconds and 120 images per second can be triggered. The sensor transmits the data via fiber optics. A turbine blade is completely digitized in 3 minutes, an entire blisk in about an hour. The point cloud obtained can be immediately compared with the CAD model or data from previous measurements in the GOM software by means of surface comparison. This quickly provides an easy-to-understand overview of the dimensional accuracy of the component that has just been produced, maintained or repaired. Thanks to their robust design with protected optics, encapsulated electronics and a self-monitoring sensor, the measuring systems are also suitable for harsh production environments.

Premiere at the Atos Tech Day

The new 3D scanner was presented to the public for the first time at the "Atos Tech Day for Gas Turbines" on September 26 at the company headquarters in Braunschweig. The technology day focused on the use of optical measurement technology in the aerospace industry. In presentations and knowledge tracks, numerous speakers reported in detail on the potential offered by optical measurement technology in quality assurance for industrial gas turbines (IGT) and aerospace engines. Live demonstrations showed how quickly and precisely the Atos scanners work, even in automated applications. Around 100 participants from all over Europe gathered information at the event in Braunschweig, with two further technology days taking place in the USA and China.

The Atos triple scan principle
The sensors in the product family work according to the triple scan principle. They project precise stripe patterns onto the object surface, which are captured by two cameras using the stereo camera principle. As the beam paths of both cameras and the projector are known in advance thanks to the calibration, 3D coordinate points can be calculated from the three different beam intersections. The result is a network of complete measurement data without holes or faulty points, even with reflective surfaces and complex-shaped objects with complicated undercuts. The sensors work with narrow-band blue light so that interfering ambient light can be filtered out during image acquisition.