Augmented Reality for Airframe Hole Repair, Fastener Installation and Inspection

A New Era of Cold Expansion for Aircraft Production and Repair

 

Augmented Reality for Airframe Hole Repair, Fastener Installation and Inspection

Cold expansion of fastener holes has been a staple of aircraft life extension programs for more than 50 years. Not much has changed in cold expansion processes, tooling, or applications for decades—until now. PartWorks introduces a new era of cold expansion technology, breathing new life, new thinking, new designs, and new technology into the world of aircraft repair. PartWorks has assembled a team of some of the world’s leading experts in cold expansion, airframe design, component qualification, and structural repair to solve complex aircraft repair and assembly challenges.

Whether you’re involved in the repair or new production of military aircraft or commercial aviation, PartWorks’ patent-pending innovations—such as ultra thin-walled bushings, bushed rivetless nutplates, handheld smart tools, and in situ life extension validation—are designed to increase fleet readiness, reduce corrosion repair costs, and provide validated data for life extension credit.

Enhanced Technology Repair for Corrosion and Fatigue Damage in Hybrid Aerostructure

31ST ICAF Symposium – Delft, 26-29 June 2023

Dr. Matthew Kokaly, Mr. Jude Restis, PartWorks, USA

  • New corroded fastener hole repair technique designed to meet airworthiness requirement faster and less costly
  • Digital image correlation (DIC) verifies suitable ERS field
  • AR used to record hole location for QA ease and documentation
  • New adhesive improves ability of rivetless nut plate to resist torque and pushout

Increase fleet readiness

Shortened corrosion hole repair time and 10x life extension dramatically improve aircraft availability with PartWorks’s patented – (US 11255371B2) and patent pending solutions including ultra thin-walled bushings and bushed rivetless nutplates.

Reduce corrosion and repair costs

Fleets experience a transformative reduction in corrosion repair costs. PartWorks’s patented – (US 11255371B2) and patent pending installation and process validation tooling standardize the labor component and inform the operator when the work is done correctly.

Validate life extension credit

Fleets can validate the cold expansion of the parent structure in situ. PartWorks’s patent pending system and integrated digital image correlation  (DIC) deliver process validation and justify life extension credit.

Solving Challenges in the Aviation Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) Industry

The aerospace Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) industry faces ongoing challenges, including increasing aircraft downtime, managing corrosion repair costs, and ensuring the accuracy of repair validation. These issues can lead to reduced fleet readiness and higher maintenance costs. The PartWorks RepĀR™ Augmented Reality (AR) solutions for airframe hole repair, fastener installation, and cold expansion validation tackle these problems by reducing repair time, improving data accuracy, and ensuring validated life extension of critical aircraft components. This is essential to ensuring efficient operations, reducing costs, and maintaining aircraft availability in both military and commercial aviation.

Explore the possibilities

Learn about Cold Expansion

Increase Fleet Readiness

Fleet readiness improves significantly with PartWorks’ patent-pending solutions, including ultra thin-walled bushings and bushed rivetless nutplates. These innovations dramatically reduce corrosion hole repair time and extend the fatigue life of components, delivering up to 10x life extension, which results in increased aircraft availability.

Reduce Corrosion Repair Costs and MRO Labor Costs

Fleets experience a transformative reduction in corrosion repair costs with PartWorks’ patented installation and process validation tools. By standardizing the labor involved in aircraft repair and providing tools that inform operators when a task has been correctly completed, PartWorks RepĀR helps reduce MRO labor costs while ensuring compliance.

Validate Life Extension Credit

The PartWorks RepĀR cold expansion validation system allows fleets to validate repairs in situ. Using a combination of digital image correlation (DIC) and other advanced technologies, our system supports the validation of cold expansion processes, ensuring that life extension credit is justified and documented.

Watch how PartWorks solutions increase fleet readiness, reduce corrosion repair costs and validate life extension credits