Introduction

Articles Laser vision systems have been around since

Laser technology finds the early 1980s. Like those for many new
edges – looking for technologies, expectations for laser vision
were higher than capability and this led to
problems? many disappointments. But recent develop-
ments would indicate that laser vision is a
technology that could now be successfully
Mike Wilson
applied to resolve a number of production
problems within the aerospace industry.
The vision companies that mushroomed in
this period disappeared as fast as they arose.
The few who survived did so by concentrating
on niche markets in which the high cost of the
early systems could be justified – because they
were the only solution available.
The author
Meta Technology, in Didcot, UK, concen-
Mike Wilson is Managing Director, Meta Technology,
trated its expertise on weld guidance systems
Didcot, Oxfordshire, UK.
– at that stage primarily for robots. The prin-
ciple behind the laser guidance control is
Abstract
simple; the secret is in the software. For weld-
Highlights recent developments in laser vision technology ing, the laser lays down a stripe 5 to 60mm
with regard to the aerospace industry. Specifically looks at long (depending on the precision required) in
its application to the Ariane 5 rocket, CCD cameras, front of the weld at 90° for the join and direc-
adhesives and sealants and a sensor which defines the tion of travel. The control system interprets
accuracy of drilling and countersinking in airfoil shapes. the picture from a CCD (charge-coupled
device) camera built into the sensor. This
generates signals back to the robot control to
adjust the torch position so that it remains
centrally over the joint and at the correct
height (see Figure 1).
In the main, the early applications for laser
guidance were at the more exotic end of the
robot market. Many of these were in the
aerospace industry. However, it is reasonable
to say that robot welding is only a very small
percentage of the total welding market, and
robot applications that demand laser guidance
are only a small part of that.
Nevertheless, this focus on the high-tech,
esoteric end of welding was not without its
advantages. It proved an ideal “training
ground” for the development of the system for
the mass welding market. This is best illus-
trated by examining some of the applications
of that period.

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology
Volume 69 · Number 1 · 1997 · pp. 53–55
MCB University Press · ISSN 0002-2667
53
Ariane
The stage-1 nozzle for the Ariane 5 rocket was
an outstandingly successful application. The
nozzle is formed from around 200 rings of
differing diameters welded together. Each
© Mike Wilson, 1997
 Laser technology finds edges – looking for problems?
Mike Wilson
part required over one mile (1,800m) of weld.
This used the Meta MS 900 guidance system
specifically developed for the high-precision
required for tungsten inert gas (TIG) applica-
tions. This has the laser and a CCD camera
mounted around the TIG welding torch. For
this application it was mounted to an Adept
robot (see Figure 2).
The sensor provided seam mapping, which
identifies the robot path without the need for
pre-teaching the robot. It also guarantees the
robot path to an accuracy better than 0.1mm.
For this application, the TIG welding speed
was 4mm/sec. This installation was faster and
produced better quality welds than the previ-
ous manually controlled method.
Work carried out on the Ariane 4, stage-3
nozzle took the technology on to the next
plateau. Using the laser to measure the seam
gap, it proved possible to develop a gap-
dependent welding speed. In other words, the
system responded to the volume of weld
material required and adjusted the speed
between 2 and 7mm/sec. This was fully adap-
tive welding. For the customer this meant a
vast improvement in weld quality.
Figure 1 A fan of laser light strikes the surface of the work
piece
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Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology
Volume 69 · Number 1 · 1997 · 53–55
Figure 2 A typical arrangement
CCD cameras
For Meta, it was obvious that the exceedingly
small niche market of robot welding could not
provide the growth required. In the early
1990s, a number of breakthroughs, ironically
nothing to do with the vision market, provid-
ed the tools to break out of the restricted
robot welding market. These can be summa-
rized as miniature, low-cost CCD cameras – a
spin-off from the consumer video market, and
tumbling prices for computing power.
Today Meta Laser Vision systems can be
seen on conventional welding machines
making such prosaic products as lampposts
and steel tanks. This is because the £80,000
vision system of the early 1980s has been
replaced by an infinitely more powerful,
smaller and reliable £8,000 system.
The technology for welding involves find-
ing a joint and following it. Tests have proved
that it need not be a joint; the laser can just as
easily track an edge. That is why there is now
a series of specialist products for different
applications marketed under the generic
name Tracker (see Plate 1).
Already the laser vision systems have been
adapted for following the edge of an interior
moulding. This can be useful for a wide range
of trimming and finishing operations. The
attraction of the process is that it lends itself to
automating trimming processes in the rela-
tively small quantities often encountered in
aircraft manufacture.
Adhesives and sealants
When applications have been identified by
Meta, it approaches companies offering them
a solution. But there are many other applica-
tions throughout the aerospace industry that
 Laser technology finds edges – looking for problems?
Mike Wilson
Plate 1 Using a Meta sensor in conjunction with two cross
slides to keep a MIG welder on track
require an edge to be tracked, for example,
applying adhesives or sealants. Most critical
applications require the sealant to be placed
relative to an edge or seam – an ideal vision
system solution. As the sensor has its own
light source and the laser filters out other
wavelengths, it is unaffected by changes in the
ambient lighting.
As the aerospace industry becomes aware
of laser vision, there will be a growing recogni-
tion of the potential it offers to resolve guid-
ance problems.
MXS sensor
Another new development based on the
Tracker system features the MXS sensor. This
uses the same technology, but instead of
laying down a single stripe, a second laser lays
down a stripe at 90° to the first to form an
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“X”. This has major applications within the
aerospace industry; already a number of
major airframe manufacturers are currently
assessing the potential.
With the MXS, the software interprets the
“X” pattern as perceived by the CCD camera,
and feedback signals are then generated so
that any tool or device can be kept at 90° to a
complex surface such as a airfoil shape. This
is particularly important when countersinking
for a riveted assembly. If the drill is not
normal to the surface, the countersink will not
be symmetrical to the hole, which will obvi-
ously be detrimental to rivet strength.
The correcting of the drill position can be
achieved in a number of ways. The signals can
be integrated with a robot’s program. Trials
have already been carried out with the Tricept
robot from Neos Robotics. The unique con-
figuration of this robot, which uses three
powerful actuators to absorb static and
dynamic loads, makes it ideal for this applica-
tion. The three actuators, all connected to the
head, provide such levels of rigidity and load
capacity that the robot can be used for drilling
or pressing operations.
The combination of the Tricept robot and
MXS laser sensor provides an ideal solution
for drilling and countersinking in airfoil
shapes where it is imperative that the drill is
normal to the complex surface.
As an alternative, the sensor head can be
incorporated into multi-axis computer-
numerically-controlled (CNC) machine tools
in which the correction signals can be inte-
grated with the “cutter offsets” to maintain
the tools in the correct position.
Further information
The case studies quoted are just the tip of the
iceberg for the profitable application of laser
guidance systems in the aerospace industry.
For further information contact Meta Tech-
nology on 01235 512215.