Effectively Measure Rotor Blades for Helicopters

A helicopter engine must keep tons of weight in the air. Elastic compound materials and the optimal aerodynamic shape of the rotors play a key role here. However, modern rotors also reduce noise and help lower fuel consumption. Their profiles and surfaces are perfect examples of curve and freeform surface measurement. Compliance with geometric tolerances ensures that the rotors always generate optimum lift at different speeds.

The installation of the new measuring machine was a revolution for the company. In the past, the rotor blade was positioned on its leading edge. The new measuring process with PRO allows the technicians to place the rotor blade on its underside. Although this meant abandoning a 20-year-old measuring method, the transition delivered many benefits. Thanks to a special clamping system, two rotor blades can be positioned above each other and measured in one run. This new arrangement facilitates the measurement of the entire aerodynamic profile with the underside, leading edge and top of the rotor blade. Furthermore, the company switched to the VAST XXT scanning probe on RDS.