Blogs
Case-In-Point: MTI Turbine Vibration Analyzer/Balancing System Technology Principles
What do you think when you’re flying home, cruising at 30,000 feet and the drinks have just been served? Our engineers think about the ripple in the glass. That ripple signals vibration and is an indication that the engine may be in need of a balance.
Article: Solving the Shortage of Aviation Technicians Through Product Design
he MRO industry is seeing an exodus of retiring mechanics — even as fewer young mechanics sign up to enter the trade. Exacerbating the situation is the extensive training and dated equipment aspiring technicians must contend with before they can join the workforce.
A Comprehensive Guide to Non-Contact Sensors and Their Applications
Sensors, both contact and non-contact, are crucial devices that allow the monitoring, detection, and reaction to conditions in an environment or within a process or piece of equipment. While myriad types of sensors exist and are designed to monitor varying conditions, all of them can be characterized as being one of two types — contact sensors and non-contact sensors. We’ll focus on the latter, diving into different technologies, types, and applications of non-contact sensor technology; but first, let’s explore what differentiates contact and non-contact sensors. Contact vs. Non-Contact Sensors: What’s the Difference? Measuring, monitoring, or detecting a particular condition [...]
Weathering the storm: Keys to resiliency in MRO
Weathering the storm: Keys to resiliency in MRO By Ken Ameika It’s no secret that COVID-19 has adversely affected the airline industry, and consequently the MRO and test cell markets. But the impacts are nuanced. Commercial aircraft utilization is way down; meanwhile, freight carrier business is expanding markedly. Operators are spending less; but they still have needs, which often require quick turnaround. It’s been hard for many. But there’s good news: COVID provided lessons that we can all use to make our businesses, or our careers, more resilient to the next major disruption. Diversify Your Business Commercial passenger traffic—or [...]
How Aircraft Operators Reduce Downtime While “Sweating the Assets”
In a recent article called “UPS Gives Old Jets New Life,” Bloomberg reports how United Parcel Service (UPS) is replacing the cockpit computers on its Airbus SE freighters in order to reduce downtime, increase productivity, and avoid large capital expenses. Known as “sweating the assets,” this business strategy is also benefitting the two aviation maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) organizations that are performing the computer upgrades. “Doing such work,” writes Bloomberg’s Thomas Black, “is a huge potential market.” As the article explains, UPS purchased flight computers for over 50 Airbus A300-600 jets some twenty years ago. However, the memory [...]
Industry 4.0 for Test and Measurement
Industry 4.0 promises greater integration, interoperability, and information exchange. This Fourth Wave of the Industrial Revolution isn’t about a single technology such as machine learning. It’s not just about artificial intelligence (AI) or Big Data either. Rather, Industry 4.0 is a family of connected technologies that will enable industry to collect, analyze, and act upon massive amounts of diverse and distributed data. Smart sensors for precise test and measurement are essential for these advanced systems. MTI Instruments, a global supplier of precision measurement solutions, is developing a new class of wireless and wired sensors to support digital connections for [...]
Navy Orders Avionics Test and Measurement Systems
The U.S. Navy wants new avionics test and measurement systems. Under the terms of a $109-million award, the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division in Lakehurst, New Jersey will buy 41 electronic consolidated automated support systems (eCASS) from Lockheed Martin. This test and measurement equipment helps soldiers and Marines troubleshoot and repair aviation electronics while at sea. Avionics, the electronics used in aircraft, support essential navigation and communications functions. With military aircraft, avionics typically include electro-optical, infrared, and other types of sensors for airborne radar, weapons systems, and heads-up displays. Military avionics also need to support electronic warfare systems, [...]
The Top Five Trends Impacting Test and Measurement for 2019
With 2019 upon us, we know everyone is thinking about what's next in the Test and Measurement industry. We also know that without test and measurement equipment, engineers can't accurately and consistently prove that their mechanical or electronic devices perform as required. When they don't work, engineers also need to determine why and how to fix them. All of this leads to innovative thinking on how to test and measure even better by taking advantage of rapidly growing trends such as digitization, software, additive manufacturing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and new sensing applications that are driving advances in T&M. [...]
About Wafer Bow And Warp Measurement Systems
Semiconductor/Solar Wafer Bow And Warp Metrology/Surface About Wafer Bow And Warp Measurement Systems Thickness Measurement for Metrology Systems ASTM F657: The distance through a wafer between corresponding points on the front and back surface. Thickness is expressed in microns or mils (thousandths of an inch). Total Thickness Variation (TTV) ASTM F657: The difference between the maximum and minimum values of thickness encountered during a scan pattern or series of point measurements. TTV is expressed in microns or mils (thousandths of an inch). Figure above shows a wafer placed between two non-contact [...]
Engine Vibration and Balancing Principles
What do you think when you’re flying home, cruising at 30,000 feet and the drinks have just been served? Our engineers think about the ripple in the glass. That ripple signals vibration and is an indication that the engine may be in need of a balance. The MTII’s PBS-4100+ Series Turbine Vibration Analyzer/Balancing System was developed to ensure that Turbine engines run as efficiently as possible. Excessive vibration is detrimental for a host of reasons: energy intended for useful output is instead expended on the vibration vibration manifests as acoustic energy (noise), again wasting otherwise useful energy excessive [...]