The M403V fan blade scanner is one of a range of inspection systems supplied exclusively to Rolls Royce Plc. and International Aero Engines AG for the in-service inspection of wide-chord fan blades. The M403V was available from Midas NDT Systems Ltd. as a new system or as an upgrade of an existing M401 or M401V system, it has since been superceded by the M403T fan blade scanner.
The M401 fan blade scanner was introduced in 1996 for the inspection of Rolls Royce Plc. RB2-11 524 G&H and RB2-11 535 E4 engines fitted on the Boeing 747-400, Boeing 757, Boeing 767 and Tupolev Tu204 aircraft.
The M401V fan blade scanner was introduced in 1999 for the inspection of the International Aero Engines A.G. V2500 family of engines fitted on the Airbus A319, Airbus 320, Airbus 321 and Boeing MD-90 aircraft.
In order to inspect a fan blade an operator must type the fan blade serial number and select the fan blade type. The fan blade manufacturer also requests that all other information fields are filled when the information is available. When all information is completed the system will ask the operator to load the fan blade and then carry out a fully automatic inspection cycle. The fully automated scanning process carries out a pulse-echo shear-wave ultrasonic inspection of both sides of the blade before parking and analysing the results.
At the end of the process a simple results screen appears showing green if the fan blade has passed or red if the fan blade has failed.
Midas NDT Systems Ltd. are official suppliers to International Aero Engines AG and Rolls Royce Plc. for manufacture, installation, spares and maintenance support of automated fan blade inspection equipment. Midas NDT support twenty eight of this range of systems at maintenance bases located on five continents world-wide, offering customers total care packages including emergency breakdown contracts, annual maintenance contracts and complete spares support.
