While products often get most of the attention, nondestructive testing (NDT) services should not be overlooked. Securing the best NDT lab services can make the production process much smoother, as products are only as good as the people using them. What follows are a listing of NDT lab services available today.



Non-Destructive Testing Services (NDTS), a division of TÜV Rheinland Industrial Solution, introduces its new sorting and containment services that use an array of testing and inspection methods to help identify salvaged products and components. Unexpected complications that result in costly downtime could happen at anyone’s facility. If such an unfortunate circumstance arises, NDTS can fully staff any location with qualified technicians by contacting the 24-hour containment hotline.

NDTS sorting and containment service offerings include: real-time or fluoroscopy X-ray, computed and film radiography, eddy current testing, hardness sorting, material sorting, magnetic particle testing, ultrasonic testing, liquid penetrant testing and visual inspection.

Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology’s Brighton, MI, facility offers companies all the benefits of computed tomography (CT) scanning-without the need for capital investment. With a completed scan, the company is able to see everything inside the part, such as hidden passages and cooling channels, as well as all external features. The resulting “actual” dataset can be used to perform several unique investigations, such as the nondestructive quantification of internal defects such as porosity and wall thickness, analysis of cavities, detection of hairline fractures and inclusions.

The dataset also can aid nondestructive inspection of assemblies, modules and complete devices through simple visualization of the actual status of the interior for functional analysis, damage analysis inside modules and devices, and detection of assembly errors.

Another possibility is a comparison to a computer-aided design (CAD) model by producing a surface color map internally and externally that shows deviations from nominal.

The company can provide a complete blueprint layout using its Calypso GD&T software module, reverse engineer a fully surfaced CAD model, and offers nondestructive patent infringement analysis.

X-R-I Testing recently expanded its immersion ultrasonic testing capabilities at its Troy, MI, laboratory with the installation of two new tanks. The first tank can accommodate cylindrical parts or rings up to 57 inches in diameter and weighing as much as 500 pounds. The second tank allows testing of tube stock up to 48 inches in diameter, 22 feet in length and weighing up to 1,000 pounds.

Immersion ultrasonic testing is an economical, fast and accurate means for determining wall thickness as well as identifying and locating defects such as inclusions and discontinuities in cast, forged and welded parts. It also is useful in detecting delaminations in composite structures such as those used in the aerospace and energy industries.<

Acuren Materials Testing & Analysis has offered nondestructive testing, inspection and materials engineering for more than 30 years, providing clients with expert materials engineering services, including mechanical, chemistry, metallurgical and plastics testing. “We operate five fully equipped advanced materials testing laboratories, designed to handle any size project with rapid turnaround,” says Kevin Hill, director of business development. “We have more than 50 materials engineers with decades of experience. When unusual or atypical results are encountered our professionals find out why and recommend how to mitigate the problem.”

Select Acuren facilities are designated Centers of Excellence for specialized testing such as NACE sour service testing, long-term fatigue tests and accelerated aging testing. In-house machine shops provide quick and accurate specimen preparation. In addition, Acuren’s technical libraries contain an extensive collection of materials standards, both current and historical, for evaluating test results.

GKS Global Services can create computer-aided design (CAD) models where none existed for reverse engineering, updating or color error maps for first-article inspection. They have the ability to scan parts to quickly capture accurate 3-D data-inside and out.

The 3-D scanning services provide fast, accurate results, reducing time to market, native CAD data in all major software programs and nondestructive testing to capture internal geometry and inspect assemblies.

GKS is a total solution provider for creating virtual 3-D models of everything from tiny components to large parts, inside and out, usually in three to five days. The company is approved by U.S. Military and prime aircraft/aerospace contractors, and National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP) accredited for aerospace quality systems and nondestructive testing.

Inspection personnel are qualified and certified to NAS 410, BSS7698 and SNT-TC-1A. The company provides material characterization for engineering support and ultrasonic and eddy current Level III consulting. Contact the technical sales staff for approval verification.

Laboratory Testing Inc. (LTI) is an independent laboratory providing answers to questions about material quality and reliability. The full-service NDT lab is PRI/Nadcap accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and performs immersion and contact ultrasonic testing, magnetic particle inspection, liquid penetrant inspection, X-ray, hydrostatic pressure testing and visual inspection services. All testing results are outlined in detailed certified test reports.

The layout of the nondestructive testing lab and capacities of the NDT equipment allow LTI to inspect products and parts in all shapes and sizes up to 70 feet, and orders of almost any quantity using nondestructive testing methods. LTI inspects metal tubing, pipe, bar, plates, castings, fasteners and other metal products and machined parts.

Quality Material Inspection Inc. (QMI) specializes in the nondestructive testing of aerospace structures and engineered materials, providing both testing services and instrumentation.

Utilizing Airscan air-coupled ultrasonic, conventional ultrasonic and eddy current techniques, QMI provides fast and precise service with state-of-the-art instrumentation.

QMI developed Airscan, an air-coupled noncontact ultrasonic instrumentation and technique that differs from conventional ultrasonic testing by virtue of using air as the acoustic coupling media between the transducers and the test piece. It eliminates couplant-borne contamination, as well as the need for water-handling systems. The company’s instrumentation is suited to the nondestructive testing of carbon fiber, Nomex, laminates, honeycomb core, foam core and other engineered materials.

Quality Testing Services Inc. (QTS) recently installed new ultrasonic scanning equipment that allows for automated inspection of composite/honeycomb aircraft parts up to 40 feet.

The established FAA repair facility is currently performing production and in-service nondestructive testing for military and commercial aircraft companies. The QTS staff specializes in nondestructive testing of composites, laminates and honeycomb assemblies.

QTS has been in business since 1992 and is a full-service nondestructive testing facility performing inspections and testing for a variety of industries and projects including aviation, automotive, earthmoving, space station, pipelines, buildings, raw materials, pharmaceutical lines, storage tanks, lifting devices and crane components.

Quality Testing’s accreditiations include: ISO Guide 17025, American Association of Laboratory accreditation (A2LA) and National Aerospace and Defense Contractors Accreditation Program (NADCAP).

Additional capabilities include mechanical testing, calibration/metrology services and NDT training, Level III representation and consulting.