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Aviation and Aerospace

On-wing inspections and repairs reduce downtimes of aircrafts.

New endoscopic solutions support the on-wing maintenance and avoid time-consuming disassembly of engines.

In recent years, the worldwide increase in air traffic and strong competition from low-cost airlines have led to enormous cost pressure for airlines, aircraft manufacturers and service providers. In order to remain competitive, an airline must keep the downtime of an airplane short. Planned and unplanned maintenance work must be carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible and always in accordance with all safety regulations. Therefore service providers (MROs) are challenged to develop customized service concepts and solutions for optimal maintenance. 

New demands on endoscope solutions

During operation, airplane engines are subject to high stress and extreme temperature variations. As a result, all safety-relevant components must be inspected regularly with the help of visual inspection on the ground. Repairs, if possible, are carried out immediately on-wing, without disassembly. The high rate of utilization of aircrafts creates new demands on  boroscope and videoscope solutions. Working closely with engine manufacturers and maintenance providers, SCHÖLLY is developing new technologies that significantly simplify safety-relevant maintenance. SCHÖLLY relies here on endoscopic solutions that not only make the insides of turbines and other areas of the airplane visible, but that are also adapted to the goals and processes of the maintenance work. A major goal is thus to prevent the costly disassembly of the engine. 

Visual inspection as an integrated element

With current videoscopes and boroscopes, inspections are carried out, results are evaluated and the analysis is documented in the form of images and videos. This way, the task of a conventional inspection system is fulfilled (illustration on the left). SCHÖLLY develops inspection systems that furthermore deal with the problems of damage detected by the endoscope. Endoscopic testing processes are further developed with the customer and become endoscopic testing and repair processes (illustration on the right).

Technical refinements make the difference

To facilitate the inspection for service personnel and to increase efficiency in maintenance, SCHÖLLY integrates further technologies into the endoscope solution. These include innovative testing processes, 3D inspections or additional repair functions. With inspections in 3D, the operator has a spatial view and can more quickly allocate any discovered damage. With repair functions such as, for example a cleaning function, removal of just-discovered deposits can be carried out without any further loss of time. The integration of a measurement function helps decide whether a cost-effective repair can be an alternative to component replacement. 

Further information

Engine maintenance

Endoscopic testing and repair processes