CCAT nets $1.7M Air Force research contract

Contributed photo Nasir Mannan, a modeling and simulation research applications engineer at CCAT, scans a part.

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The Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology in East Hartford said it has signed a $1.7 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to develop and improve parts-inspection technology for aerospace manufacturers.

Over the next 18 months, the nonprofit CCAT will work with a team of Connecticut companies, including Pratt & Whitney, Rolls Royce, and General Electric, in an effort to optimize scanners — known as non-contact metrology systems — used by manufacturers to measure and inspect aerospace parts.

“Non-contact metrology is emerging as a leading technology for inspection of complex geometric parts such as those in aerospace manufacturing,” Tom Maloney, CCAT’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “Our goal is to develop a scientific approach to assess the accuracy and repeatability of non-contact inspection systems to advance the technology.”

CCAT has developed its own scanning system, while other manufacturers use a variety of other systems.

Other members of CCAT’s project team include: The University of Hartford; Vernon’s Bolton Works; Middletown’s Digital Manufacturing Services; Michigan’s Alcoa Howmet Research Center, which has a Branford office; South Carolina’s 3D Systems; GE Global Research in New York; and two divisions of Precision Castparts Corp., including PCC Structurals in Groton.