This 18-month project, which received a NATEP grant, will focus on Adaptix’s development in dry-fibre inspection technology, creating potential methodologies for automated defect detection using Artificial Intelligence and/or computer vision. Product and component use-cases from Dowty, along with current inspection techniques, will be utilized to verify the defect identification developed within the project in both dry fibre and cured composite materials.
This will be carried out by the non-healthcare division, AdaptixNDE and will also be supported by leading UK aerospace composite manufacturing primes, Spirit AeroSystems and GKN Aerospace.
Andy Barnes, AdaptixNDE Commercial Director stated: “We’re translating a highly innovative hardware solution from healthcare into aerospace, allowing us to inspect in dry-preform, where other methods simply can’t. This means an earlier first point-of-inspection during manufacture to reduce cost, time, material waste and machinery usage on unfit parts. This NATEP project will help automate the inspection for composite failure detection earlier in manufacture and through-life with significant economic and environmental impacts. It’s exciting to evolve Adaptix’ inspection capability and make moves towards the future by pioneering the route to NDE 4.0 and through-life Digital Twin inspection. NATEP was designed specifically to help companies develop and exploit their technology offering using a mix of part funding and technology mentoring and is a perfect fit for Adaptix Auto3DXNDE for this, our second project with the programme.”
