7,377 Avro Lancaster Mk. Xs rolled off the production lines in Britain and Canada during WWII. The aircraft was known for its integral role in the bombing raids on the Ruhr Dams and the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz.
Globally, 17 Lancasters survived but only two are in flying condition today. Originally built at Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, one of these two planes are proudly housed at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario.
Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum Uses 3D Scanning Data for New Gasket
The Lancaster Mk X is powered by four Merlin 224 1,640 hp engines. To keep the Merlins running and keep the plane in flying condition, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum required new head gaskets. This meant they needed a precise two-dimensional drawing of the original gasket to re-produce new head gaskets using innovative water jet cutting technology.
To provide the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum with a model of the large aluminum gasket, the Team at Applied Precision 3D employed a suite of techniques and 3D technologies developed throughout years of expert professional service.
Due to the gasket’s surrounding area, digitizing with the COMET L3D structured light system needed to be supplemented with photogrammetry technology. Using both sources, Applied Precision 3D’s Team created reference data with which the scan data could be aligned. This reference data ensures extremely high accuracy during post-processing to meet the needs of the water jet cut gasket. The profile cross section was created through the use of advanced software suites, with the optimal .DXF file format provided to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.
Applied Precision’s 3D Technology and Expertise Leads to Project Success
The accuracy of the process, tools, and service used by Applied Precision 3D for aerospace manufacturing is unparalleled. Many of the systems employed, working either alone or in conjunction with one another, can tackle the demands of almost any industry. For the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Applied Precision’s services allowed for the dimensions of a critical component – an engine gasket – of the Lancaster Mk X to be captured accurately. This became the foundation for future work and ensured continued flight of this iconic historical bomber.
Contact Applied Precision to become the foundation for your future projects. Our 3D scanning technology and expertise supports a wide range of innovative engineering and manufacturing applications.