The aerospace industry uses nondestructive testing (NDT) methods quite extensively. The structural integrity and safety of nearly all components, especially the most critical ones, needs to be validated and NDT plays a major role. NDT is required in virtually all areas of newly manufactured, serviced, repaired, or overhauled inspections.

Times change, technologies change, but the fundamentals of leak testing remain the same – the reliability and repeatability of your test results depend on how well you understand and compensate for testing variables.

Aerospace and defense manufacturing, and associated maintenance and repair operations (MRO), are undergoing some fundamental technology shifts right now. One of the drivers of this is additive manufacturing (AM), also known as 3D printing.

First Article Inspection (FAI) is the process of planning, manufacturing, and verifying a production process. In the aerospace and defense industries in the U.S., most companies conduct AS9102 First Article Inspections.