Until now, the power of seeing through walls has been reserved for superheroes with X-ray vision. This meant that manufacturers of plastic and composite components often had to cut or break apart a prototype or product to measure and analyze internal features and identify discrepancies. This was difficult, time-consuming and potentially expensive. If a manufacturer wanted to conduct a complete dimensional inspection (first article inspection), compare a product with its computer-aided design (CAD) drawing, or compare parts made by two different facilities or tools using traditional metrology methods, the process was complex and could take several days or weeks.
Today, three-dimensional X-ray computed tomography (CT) scanning (metrotomography) offers manufacturers the most advanced and powerful tool available for industrial metrology and the validation of products made from plastics or other low-density materials. With industrial CT scanning, manufacturers can literally see inside their products to identify design issues and production discrepancies, ensure lot-to-lot consistency and derive highly accurate and detailed measurements of internal components. This fast and nondestructive approach also helps accelerate project completion by reducing the time required to qualify parts for production.