ESA BIC Incentive Funds
Stress-Space Ltd has been selected to participate in the European Space Agency Business Incubation Centre (ESA BIC) UK incubation programme. Incentive funds will be used to support development of a new robotic system capable of automatically mapping (measuring) surface residual stresses across manufactured components of complex shape for space sector applications. In this project we are working closely with the X-ray diffraction equipment supplier MRX (Mesures Rayons X) and with Airbus Defence and Space to demonstrate the technology.
The proposed system will create a 3D digital model of the manufactured component of interest using state of the art (structured light) scanning technologies upon which the user can define (off-line) an array of measurement points or automapping domains. The virtual model will be integrated within the software of the next generation X-ray diffraction residual stress measurement instrument (X-Raybot developed by MRX). The physical component will be auto-aligned with the X-Raybot measurement system allowing adaptive stress mapping over complex surfaces without human intervention.
Whilst the X-Raybot can be readily transported in 2 large suitcases, the proposed innovation will make the X-Raybot truly portable in that it will dispense with the need for lengthy calibration and alignment each time the machine is moved to a new location, for example for in-situ non-destructive evaluation.
More generally, “3D Printing” is an increasingly important technology for the future space sector, because it is far more cost and energy effective to send raw materials into space in a compact form for “off-planet" in-situ additive manufacture (AM). But AM is technology challenged by the need to control high levels of residual stress, unpredictable distortion and the prevalence of defects in the final product. A further issue is that AM products have an uneven external profile, especially if made using a wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) or laser wire fed processes for space.
Residual stresses and the associated distortion in AM components need to be measured and understood before they can be controlled, for which detailed residual stress and distortion measurement data are needed. SSL’s proposed “robotic adaptive XRD measurements system” will provide a revolutionary new tool to fill this knowledge gap and open the opportunity for providing “big data” of high quality in order to develop future smart manufacturing processes that avoid rework (reducing costs).