Bath-based RPI UK (www.rpiuk.com), a leading specialist in rotary measurement, has installed the first of two integrated ‘rotor measurement and assembly platforms’ (iMAPs) at a major aero-engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in the USA.

Jim Palmer, RPI’s sales manager, said: “It is great news that both the OEM and their approved MRO facilities are choosing to invest in iMAP, which has been independently verified to give significant operational improvements over traditional measurement methods.

“With world-class accuracy, it achieves high levels of quality while helping customers save money and resources by significantly reducing inspection times — and the need for costly rotor ‘tear downs’ due to inefficient rotor assembly optimisation.”

RPI’s iMAP has been shown to reduce inspection times by 90% and improve gauge repeatability and reproducibility by as much as a factor of 10.

The equipment is used by the MRO facility (after the engines are dismantled) to inspect each individual section of the engine for cracks, wear and distortion.

Measurements are taken, with AccuScan data acquisition software used to confirm that the component geometry meets the original specifications; and once the components have been approved, repaired or replaced, the iMAP is used for engine assembly and ensuring that alignment and concentricity are correct, as each section is rebuilt.

AccuScan enables the measurement of up to 4,000 data points on up to eight surfaces simultaneously per revolution, reducing process times to just 2min.

This inspection data is then used by iMAP’s Rotor Stacking software to establish how to best assemble a multi-stage rotor to achieve minimum run-out or imbalance of the finished rotor.