Checking aircraft composite mouldings for defects
Overview
This standard identifies the competences you need to check aircraft composite mouldings (including items such as panels, components, jigs), and to identify and deal with any defects found, in accordance with approved procedures. You will be required to follow appropriate drawings, specifications and documentation in order to carry out the checks of the mouldings, which will include visual and sensory checks as well as the use of measuring instruments and non-destructive testing methods. You will be expected to be able to identify a range of defects in a variety of resin and fibre materials, and to take appropriate action to deal with them.
Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the activities undertaken, and to report any problems with the checking activities, inspection equipment or materials that you cannot personally resolve, or are outside your permitted authority, to the relevant people. You will need to ensure that all tools, equipment and materials used in the checking are correctly accounted for on completion of the activities, and you must complete all necessary job/task documentation accurately and legibly.
You will be expected to work either with a high level of supervision or as a member of a team, and you will take personal responsibility for your own actions and for the quality and accuracy of the work that you carry out. Where team working is involved, you must demonstrate a significant personal contribution during the team activities in order to satisfy the requirements of this standard, and you must demonstrate competence in all the areas required by the standard.
Your underpinning knowledge will be sufficient to provide a sound basis for your work, and will provide an informed approach to identifying defects in composite mouldings. You will understand the composite materials, and their application, and will know about the associated defects, in adequate depth to provide a sound basis for identifying the defects in line with organisation practice and procedures.
You will understand the safety precautions required when working with the composite mouldings, and when using the associated tools and equipment. You will be required to demonstrate safe working practices throughout. You will also understand your responsibilities for safety, and the importance of taking the necessary safeguards to protect yourself and others in the workplace.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
P1 work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
P2 identify defects with regard to the product or asset specification
P3 assess the defects and determine action required to return the products and assets to specified condition
P4 inspect mouldings to ensure they comply with relevant standards
P5 deal with problems within your control and report those that cannot be solved
P6 complete and store all relevant documentation in accordance with organisational requirements
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1 how to work safely at all times, complying with health and safety and other relevant regulations, directives and guidelines
K2 the importance of wearing the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), and of keeping the work area clean and tidy
K3 the application of COSHH regulations in relation to the storage, use and disposal of composite materials and consumables
K4 the specific workshop environmental conditions that must be observed when working with aircraft composite materials
K5 how to use and extract information from engineering drawings and related specifications in relation to work undertaken
K6 how to carry out currency/issue checks of the specifications you are working with
K7 how to use imperial and metric systems of measurement, workpiece reference points and system of tolerancing
K8 the quality procedures used in the workplace to ensure production control (in relation to currency, issue, meeting specification), and how to complete the appropriate documents
K9 conventions and terminology used when identifying and rectifying defects
K10 the different types of composite resin systems, fibres and reinforcements, and the types of defects that may be present
K11 failure modes for various composite mouldings, and what can contribute to these
K12 the correct methods of storage and handling of composite materials
K13 tools and equipment used for checking the various composite mouldings
K14 the procedure for the safe disposal and correct separation of waste materials
K15 the recording documentation to be completed for the repair activities undertaken and, where appropriate, the importance of marking and identifying specific pieces of work in relation to the documentation
K16 the extent of your own responsibility, and to whom you should report if you have problems that you cannot resolve
Scope/range
Scope Performance
- Carry out all of the following during the inspection activities:
- ensure that you have the correct documentation for the checking operations (including items such as drawings, job instructions, aircraft standards)
- adhere to procedures or systems in place for risk assessment, personal protective equipment and other relevant safety regulations and procedures to realise a safe system of work
- obtain the correct tools and equipment for the activity, and check that they are in a safe and usable condition
- apply appropriate and safe inspection techniques at all times
- dispose of waste items and materials in a safe and environmentally acceptable manner, in line with company procedures
- return all tools and equipment to the correct location on completion of the activities
- leave the work area in a safe condition and free from foreign object debris
- Check for defects in composite mouldings, using four of the following methods:
- touch
- visual
- mechanical tests
- NDT (non-destructive testing)
- sound
- measurement
- stage inspection
- CMM (co-ordinate measuring methods)
- Identify defects in six of the following types of composite mouldings:
- trim
- casings and covers
- sandwich panels
- moulds
- closing panels
- aerodynamic components
- structural
- jigs
- housings
- tubes
- galley units
- tanks
- consoles
- sections
- airframe components
- other specific components
- Identify defects applicable to two of the following resin types:
- polyester
- vinyl ester
- epoxy
- phenolic
- bismaleimide
- cyanate ester
- Identify defects applicable to two of the following fibre types:
- polyethylene
- glass
- aramid
- carbon
- hybrid
- Identify eight of the following types of defects in composite mouldings:
- dimensional
- tolerances
- surface finish
- colour separation
- distortion
- blisters
- dents or ‘dings’
- surface cracks
- incorrect material
- contamination
- bridging
- broken fibres
- stray fibres
- ply orientation
- wrong join type
- gaps at joins
- incorrect overlap
- wrinkles
- splintering
- voids
- resin rich areas
- fibre deviation
- damaged cores
- dis-bonds
- excessive adhesive
- wrong inserts
- insert positions
- porosity
- local exotherm
- fayed/burned area
- incomplete curing
- de-lamination
- impact damage
- puncture
- gouges
- holes
- abrasion/erosion
- fluid ingress
- fractures
- other (to be specified)
- Inspect mouldings to ensure that they comply with one of the following standards:
- Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)/European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)
- Ministry of Defence (MoD)
- Military Aviation Authority (MAA)
- Federal Aviation Authority (FAA)
- Aerospace Quality Management Standards (AS)
- BS, ISO or BSEN standards and procedures
- customer standards and requirements
- organisational standards and procedures
- manufacturers standards and procedures
- Record details of defects, to include one from the following, and pass it to the appropriate people:
- build records
- job cards
- log cards
- aircraft log
- other specific recording method