Automated ultrasonic testing for 3D laser-rapid prototyping blisk blades

3D Laser-rapid Prototyping blisk blades could have more defects, like slag inclusions, cracks and incomplete fusions, than ones made by traditional machining. Therefore, a six-axis automated ultrasonic testing system (AUTS) was developed for 3D laser-rapid prototyping blisk blades in this paper. The applied technology is mainly about B-spline surface reconstruction from CAD, scan path planning based on B-spline surface and adaptive defect gating. In experiments conducted on blades with the system, defects could be clearly identified on generated 3D C-Scan images.