One personal computer (PC) is used as the overall systems controller. The laboratory robot used in this project was a six axis, spherical coordinate Rhino XR series which is controlled locally by a Mark III controller. This particular controller interfaces to the PC via a RS232 connection and contains controls for the six motors actuating the robot arm with two additional motor controls for implementing other control functions. The Au mounting fixture is attached to the end of the manipulator arm using two load cells to determine that the proper pressure was attained prior to taking each AU measurement.

The ultrasonic instrumentation used in this work included a PAC IPR-90 ultrasonic pulser/receiver board and an IAD-90 high speed A/D board, which were placed in the same PC as used for the robot controller. Software supplied with the PAC boards provided the necessary signals to transmit and acquire the AU data, with some additional code developed for analysis and control of the robot. Fixtures for manipulating the parts to be inspected are built up, primarily from the Rhino family of peripheral parts moving systems.

In general the approaches used to automate AU, which lead to the development of the robotic acousto-ultrasonics have worked fairly well. Reliable coupling of the ultrasonic transducers to specimens with either rough surfaces or complex contours can present a problem. The two types of parts covered in the paper are small composite bottles and powder metallurgy parts.