Paris Air Show to provide launch platform for new 5mm Smart Washer that improves flexibility and increases accuracy by nearly 60%
JPB Système, the leading manufacturer of cost- and time-saving technology solutions for aerospace, aeronautic and other industries, will use the Paris Air Show to announce important developments that further increase the functionality and accuracy of its Smart Washer device.
On display at JPB Système’s booth – Stand C216 (HALL 2A), the disruptive sealing technology improves MRO efficiencies by reducing the need to manually check the torque level thanks to touchless and wireless measurement of bolt axial load.
Currently, engineers can be quickly alerted to fasteners that are too tight or too loose and can address them accordingly to limit aircraft downtime. The washer performs the fundamental role of a standard option but uses intelligent connectivity by incorporating a proprietary strain gauge, as well as a transmission system into the washer, which via an accompanying reading device (Smart Reader), relays the information to maintenance engineers.
The enhancements to Smart Washer include a reduction of more than one third in the thickness of the device from 7.6mm to 5mm. By leveraging improvements in strain gauge technology, JPB Système has been able to respond to the needs of users with a smaller Smart Washer variant that is much easier to integrate and retrofit, while delivering the same functionality benefits as its larger counterpart. Thanks to its smaller sizer, the new-sized Smart Washer can also be used across an increased number of areas within the aircraft, while the original 7.6mm washer has proven itself to be increasingly suited to experimental scenarios in on-the-ground test environments.
Furthermore, as a result of its smaller-size, the 5mm Smart Washer offers a weight reduction of one-third, which contributes to overall objectives for improved lightweightedness.
Increased accuracy of nearly 60% offers improved safety
A crucially important development with JPB’s new Smart Washer is improved accuracy. Thanks to enabling relative measurement which calibrates the Smart Washer directly on the customer’s bolt, JPB now offers the ability for engineers to view the percentage of the tension, rather than the value of the bolt axial load, as was the case previously. This has increased the accuracy of the device from +/- 6% to +/- 2.5% which amounts to a much greater level of safety.
Safety is further improved thanks to new validated redundancy measurement, which allows Smart Washer to ‘control’ itself to eliminate incorrect readings in the unlikely event of a software issue. This is enabled by double the amount of measurement points on the washer, which means that upon a false reading, the system immediately alerts the engineer before taking another measurement from another area of the device.
“Despite a turbulent three years faced by our own company as well as many others in the aerospace industry, we have continued to listen to feedback from our Smart Washer beta customer sites as we develop the solution,” says Jonathan Beaumel, Mechanical Design Engineer at JPB Système.
“In doing so, we have directly addressed some important observations and have integrated the appropriate updates to Smart Washer to further improve its functionality and flexibility. These collective developments will significantly improve accuracy and safety across MRO operations, both for aerospace companies as well as those in other industries such as rail, nuclear and oil & gas,” he concludes.
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