Far-UK Ltd is leading a Eureka Network project entitled “Automated TeraherTz Imaging of Composites and tooling profiling" (ATTIC).

　　PROJECT SUMMARY

　　The ATTIC project has focused on the development of a fully automated drilling, monitoring and inspection solution for glass fibre composites. High-resolution laser profilers are used to monitor composite drilling tools to ensure that the level of wear is acceptable prior to each operation. This will be combined with machine learning techniques to optimise tool-processing parameters such as drilling speeds.

　　The monitoring will be included as an automated part of the process, reducing the need for operator interpretation. Once holes have been drilled, inspection of the parent material around the hole are conducted using terahertz imaging. Terahertz imaging is a promising new NDT technique that has only recently become commercially viable due to advances in photonic sensing technology. Using electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength in the range of hundreds of microns, terahertz are inherently safe and have been employed in airport scanners. Reliably and accurately inspecting thick glass fibre composites using a non-contact method is a step change in the NDT sector and a key part of the ATTIC project.

　　The other partners are TWI, Brunel University London, RECENDT and Fill. Far-UK Ltd would like to thank Innovate UK, Eureka Network and FFG for part-funding this project.