UCLA

Nondestructive evaluation methods often require high accuracy of transducer placement and repetition of multiple experimental steps. This study proposes the design of a Cartesian manipulator robot to accurately move and place the transducers on the test specimen. The electrical and software systems are also developed to allow the automation of the experiment by creating a program. The robot is capable of linear speeds of 250 mm/s and the ranges of motion from 50 to 1000 mm with 0.05-mm position accuracy. The allowable workspace is 900 x 930 x 18 mm in dimensions (length x width x height) and the maximum load capacity is 25 kg. The software allows for 13 commands that can be combined freely in a variety of experiment settings. The manipulator will be used in the nondestructive evaluation of composite aircraft and aerospace structural components in Professor Mal’s laboratory.