Hexagon to hone predictive aircraft inspections with Embraer

Hexagon and Embraer have extended their long-term partnership at Farnborough International Airshow by agreeing to jointly develop next-gen predictive quality solutions for aircraft assembly and MRO.

The collaboration combines contactless laser measurement, automation and AI to strengthen aircraft production and maintenance quality control with precision metrology. This will provide Embraer with verified data rather than estimates to confirm components and alignment are correct, supporting higher production throughput without compromising airworthiness.

Automating aircraft inspections

Bringing together Hexagon and Embraer’s manufacturing and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) teams on a single quality digital thread, the collaboration utilises the Leica Absolute Tracker ATS800 to automatically align and perform automated inspection of aircraft surfaces and features at 40 micron accuracy from up to 40m away.

Eduardo Fusaro, VP Manufacturing Engineering and Infrastructure, Embraer said: “I’m excited to announce that Hexagon and Embraer – two global leaders in quality and aviation – have agreed to extend our long-term partnership to develop next-generation predictive quality solutions.

“By combining laser scanning, automation and AI, we aim to transform aircraft inspection and assembly to drive higher productivity and performance across the industry.”

Early application of the technology on Embraer’s Phenom 100 has shown contactless scanning can help maintain aircraft airworthiness while reducing the time and manual effort required for compliance inspections.

Comparable digital quality technologies have delivered up to 50% reductions in downtime and lower operator costs by automating metrology tasks previously conducted manually.