In aerospace as in many other industries, nondestructive testing (NDT) is the final quality assessment, the final check of a part before it enters into service. Without a quality process and excellent technicians working diligently with a lot of integrity, the parts may just not be of the highest quality and fit for the job.
How the advances are benefitting aerospace engineers with increased flexibility, improved image quality, better reporting and data storage capabilities.
Standards and regulations rule the aerospace industry. Inspections and reviews are crucial to passenger and flight safety, but compliance with these standards can become time consuming and expensive.
Radiographs have been interpreted since Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen first observed the X-ray of his wife’s hand back in 1896. The process of radiographic interpretation consists of many variables with the major objective being achieving the highest possible quality level or sensitivity.
Nondestructive testing (NDT) is an extremely critical step in many industries. The safety of individual parts, entire systems, and even people can be directly tied to NDT.
As nondestructive examination (NDE) continues to evolve as an inspection discipline, so the technologies of NDE evolve to meet new challenges in terms of materials and material geometries to be inspected.
From e-vehicles to consumer electronics and implantable medical devices, standards and expectations for the quality and reliability of sealed devices and components continue to rise. This puts the burden on manufacturers to employ methods of leak testing that are objective, reliable and repeatable.
Nondestructive testing (NDT) encompasses a variety of test and inspection procedures that are used to find defects or inconsistencies in test samples without compromising the integrity of the parts.
Mike Terrell is the quality assurance manager at B&B Airparts Inc., a machine shop that specializes in manufacturing high precision parts for aerospace OEMs. B&B Airparts Inc. has been in business for over twenty years, offering machining, sheet metal fabrication, and assembly capabilities.
The testing can be used in a pre-production environment as companies evaluate changes in materials designed to improve the characteristics of end products.
Materials testing and characterization is often a lengthy process. It can take more than a year and billions of testing cycles for a manufacturer to characterize the properties of a new metal alloy to be used in a critical application, such as a component of an automotive or jet engine.