Aerospace Production: Automated inspection of CFRP structures in manufacturing

Fiber composites such as CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics) have become indispensable in modern aerospace engineering. They enable lightweight, highly resilient, and aerodynamically optimized structures. At the same time, however, the requirements for quality assurance, documentation, and process integration in production are increasing.

Porosity, air inclusions, and near-surface defects in particular must be detected early on—reliably, reproducibly, and across large areas.

The voidsy V-ROX system provides a solution that automatically tests large composite structures using robotics directly in the manufacturing process.

Large-scale, robot-assisted inspection of CFRP components

One example of application is the inspection of a large, curved CFRP aerospace structure. The goal was to capture the entire component surface efficiently and with high measurement stability.

System parameters:

• Sensor: voidsy V-ROX
• Working distance: 700 mm
• Measurement time per field: approx. 18 s
• Inspection area: 47 m²
• Over 300 individual measurements

Within just 90 minutes, more than 300 measurement fields were recorded and the entire area was systematically checked.

The results show:

• Reliable detection of relevant structures
• Stable measurement performance even with curved geometries
• Efficient integration into a robot cell
• Scalability for large components

This makes the system particularly suitable for automated quality assurance in aerospace production, where large structures need to be inspected quickly and reproducibly.

Detection and quantification of porosity in leading-edge components

Another example is the inspection of a leading-edge component. Precise defect detection is crucial, especially for aerodynamically sensitive components.

System parameters:

• Excitation duration: 4 s
• Measurement time per field: 13 s
• Working distance: 700 mm
• Measuring field size: 420 × 320 mm
• Lateral resolution: 700 µm
• Depth resolution: up to 100 µm

Several areas with porosity agglomerations were clearly identified. In addition, the defects were not only detected, but also measured and geometrically characterized. Among other things, the following were recorded:

• Length and area of the defective areas
• Relative position on the component
• Documentation for further evaluation and traceability

This quantitative evaluation enables a well-founded quality assessment directly in the production process.

Adding value to aerospace manufacturing

In aerospace, components are costly and critical to safety. Defects that are detected late in the process lead to high rework costs or scrap.

Robot-assisted inspection with voidsy therefore offers decisive advantages:

• Automated large-area inspection
• Reproducible measurement results
• High resolution for near-surface defects
• Quantifiable and documentable results
• Integration into existing production lines

Quality assurance is thus evolving from a reactive control step to an integrated, data-based component of modern aerospace production processes.