Genesis Systems Group , a US-based developer of robotic welding and automation solutions headquartered in Davenport, Iowa, develops non-destructive testing ( NDI ) robotic systems suitable for inspecting large components used in aircraft, satellites, and even full-size rockets. Their PC- and EtherCAT -based control technologies not only ensure high-precision, high-throughput, fully automated, safety-critical component inspection but also significantly reduce wiring and installation costs.
Few industries demand the same level of material testing and quality assurance as the aerospace industry. Ensuring the safety of passengers, crew, and cargo using thoroughly inspected materials and components is no easy feat. Genesis Systems Group , a robotic systems integrator supporting the aerospace and industrial manufacturing markets, focuses on developing non-destructive testing (NDT) robotic systems to meet the specific inspection requirements of large components used in aircraft, satellites, and rockets. Even for experienced professionals, manually inspecting these components has always been a significant challenge, requiring them to move around large parts while ensuring all material inspection processes meet the highest precision requirements. Genesis 's inspection systems, utilizing Beckhoff's PC- based and EtherCAT control technologies, automate the inspection process, enabling these tasks to be performed faster and with the required accuracy.
Robotic systems are designed for ultimate experiments
Genesis Systems' Nspect™ series of nondestructive testing solutions is designed to inspect large aerospace components for material defects and compliance with manufacturing specifications. To this end, Genesis integrates robots with ultrasonic processing equipment, utilizing ultrasonic transmission methods through transmitting and receiving probes. Common types of ultrasonic nondestructive testing include pulse-echo ultrasonic imaging, ultrasonic phased array imaging, and misaligned speckle interferometry, and it also supports other testing techniques. A wide range of materials can be tested, but steel, aluminum, and composite materials are the most common.
A key component of these systems is a six-axis articulated robot paired with a virtual encoder called the Genesis Blitz Module™. Programmed in C++ , the Blitz Module™ captures all robot positions and creates a six-DOF virtual encoder in approximately 200 microseconds. This is suitable for grid sizes measured in increments of 1 millimeter or less. Position feedback ensures seamless inspection of parts with large surface areas. Ryan Steckel, an automation systems engineer at Genesis Systems Group , explains: “ In the field of inspection, this is called Pulse On Position ( PoP ). The Blitz Module™ takes inspection data from the material being tested and correlates that data with the position of the instrument or sensor. The faster the pulses are sent, the faster the robot operates, and the more productive the non-destructive testing system becomes. ” The officially recognized standard time for sending these pulses is 10 milliseconds, while the Blitz Module™ developed by Genesis can send pulses in 1 millisecond. In this context, EtherCAT also enables extremely precise measurements and high-precision system synchronization, which is crucial for test and measurement applications.
PC- based control technology simplifies system integration.
Moon stated, “ The applications we implement using solutions like RoboPogo are very complex, so we needed an automation system to simplify our designs. A PC -based control system was ideal because we could accomplish all tasks through a single, integrated platform. ” Genesis Systems integrates all functionality into a Beckhoff CX2030 embedded controller. This powerful device can run PLCs , safety PLCs , motion control, HMI software, Windows operating systems, and any inspection software Genesis uses. Steckel explained, “ We used the CX2030 embedded controller, networked via EtherCAT , to control a system of 20 robots . All these tasks used only about 25% of the CPU capacity. Acquiring all non-destructive testing data and maintaining communication with 20 different KUKA robots within 1 millisecond is truly remarkable, and it strongly demonstrates the value of PC -based control and EtherCAT . ”
Using TwinCAT 3 software for system programming and runtime further simplifies system deployment. Whitney Moon stated, “ The development environment includes structured text and object-oriented programming ( OOP ), which allows us to easily adapt the RoboPogo solution as needed — since some systems might only have four robots, while others might have more than 20. ” OOP allows Genesis to easily implement its existing codebase in new systems. Steckel added, “ When starting a new system, it’s definitely much easier if you only need to set the basic parameters instead of rewriting every line of code. ”
