Gallery: New Aftermarket Products and Technologies at MRO Europe 2021

Donecle displayed its aircraft inspection drone, called flying dentCHECK, that is newly equipped with 8tree’s dent scanning technology. The two companies announced their collaboration in late 2020, which entails mounting a miniaturized version of 8tree’s dentCHECK tool to Donecle’s drone. The combined solution can scan areas of aircraft that are prone to dents, such as doors, the leading edge and tail

The technology has been validated through the French Defense Innovation Agency via an inspection of an entire Rafale military aircraft, which it was able to complete in one hour.

Breakout aircraft inspections technology provider Mainblades also showed off its improved drone, which now carries a higher payload. Mainblades says it has invested efforts on the digital side of its Drone-as-a-Tool solution, developing an online portal for inspection results and what it says will be an “all-in-one” software solution.

Mainblades is now collaborating with KLM and working towards aircraft maintenance manual certifications with Airbus and Boeing.

Composite repair specialist GMI Aero displayed its Anita 4.0—a new, enhanced version of its Anita hot bonder product. Version 4.0 is the result of GMI Aero’s pursuit of digitalization in the composite repair process, through which it studied the integration of 5G and Wi-Fi connectivity in hot bonder equipment to improve efficiencies within aircraft repair processes. In addition to its cloud connectivity and upgraded hardware, Anita 4.0 features six families of net apps developed to enable repair monitoring, data transfer and reporting, management of remote maintenance, training, and the development of digital and physical repair twins.

Hungarian startup AerinX displayed its mixed reality system to streamline aircraft inspections, which projects relevant technical information about an aircraft in 3D on the surface of an aircraft to help technicians determine the size and location of damage. According to AerinX, the system can reduce inspection time to around 20 mins.

The technology received venture capital funding in 2020 and earlier this year AerinX announced that VD Gulf is now using the mixed reality system to perform aircraft interior inspections in the United Arab Emirates.

The Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre displayed a smaller version of its automated scanning solution to inspect aircraft leading edges for dents, scratches, gouges, missing rivets and other anomalies. Although the technology is still in development, NLR is aiming to use robotics to improve inspection productivity and free up technicians for other tasks.

Launched just two years ago, Miami-based MRO software startup Smart 145 exhibited at MRO Europe for the first time this year as it seeks out a customer base in the region. Its software is used to manage a variety of aspects of MRO and its supply chain, including work orders, quotes, inventory and repair orders. According to Smart 145, it has focused on creating a user-friendly system that is tailored to customer needs.

Test equipment provider ATEQ Aviation displayed its recently released Battery Charger Analyzer (BCA) for charging and discharging of aircraft batteries. The new version features a touch screen, an integrated voltmeter and the ability to charge two standalone batteries at once. According to ATEQ, the BCA was also created with an eco-production design that controls output power, leading to less power charge waste.

Aftermarket software provider AvSight exhibited at MRO Europe for the first time this year as it pursues growth in the European market. AvSight is already working with European MROs such as SR Technics and just signed on technical asset management provider EirTrade Aviation to its platform. According to AvSight, it is also starting plans to build up staff in Europe, starting in the UK.

The platform features a wide variety of aftermarket features, including MRO functionality to track and manage work order tasks and tools, as well as analysis tools for reporting and aircraft parts research.

French robotics specialist ISYBOT displayed an industrial collaborative robot (cobot) used to sand areas such as an aircraft belly. According to ISYBOT, the cobot eliminates the physical strain that would be required for manually completing these tasks, such as the effects of vibration and prolonged overhead work. The company is currently working with aerospace customers such as Airbus, Safran and Dassault.