Within the myriad of inspection systems and technologies available in the industry that are relatively inexpensive and can be fully automated, one inspection technology stands out-eddy current inspection. It is available to the machining industry in two forms: noncontact and contact.
Viewing and quantifying defect damage during a visual inspection has become a critical function of quality control engineers and all borescope operators. This need to quantify inspection data has driven borescope manufacturers to achieve higher levels of system performance.
Alloy identification and analysis is an essential aspect of numerous industrial applications, ranging from scrap metal recycling to the manufacture of special steels for aircraft engines. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry is one method that can be used for alloy analysis. The advantages of XRF have established the technique as an industry standard.
Used to check material uniformity or processing treatment, most hardness tests employed in quality control applications yield numerical values based on a material’s resistance to indentation under the conditions imposed by the particular test. Resistance to scratching and the measurement of the amount of energy absorbed by a material when struck by a falling object also are measures of hardness.
Titan Metal Fabricators Inc. (Camarillo, CA), a designer and manufacturer of heat exchangers, pressure vessels and related products for the steel, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, was commissioned to construct a 90-foot-long, 5-foot-diameter pressurized column for a customer. The column was to be used for the containment of pressurized hydrochloric acid at a high temperature. Before the column could be delivered to the field, it had to undergo leak testing that would verify its conformity to applicable requirements of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and stringent customer demands.
In the United States it’s dangerous to unveil a new technology before it’s ready to go to market. Customers are bound to be frustrated by their inability to purchase a usable product after viewing new technology. It is better to hold off demonstrating new technology until there’s a product ready to ship.
This is my last column for Quality Magazine. When I was invited to write this column in 2002, I would have never guessed that I would be doing this for five years.
Calipers are extremely versatile tools for making a wide range of distance measurements, including both outside diameters (OD) and inside diameters (ID). While micrometers are more accurate, they have a limited measurement range, typically several inches. Calipers can span from 2 inches to 4 feet, depending on the length of the scale. External measurements are made by closing the jaws over the piece to be measured, while internal measurements are made by opening up the inside diameter contacts. Depth and other measurements can be made with a depth rod built into the instrument’s beam.
Quality Expo 2007 is the leading quality show and conference that provides hand-on access to the newest tools and broadest array of technologies to help you improve quality, streamline your process and compete globally.
MTI, a subsidiary of Mechanical Technology Inc., officially announced the release of Eve, a stand-alone measurement solution and data acquisition system, on June 18 at their shareholder’s meeting. Eve is compatible with most sensors, including MTI’s noncontact displacement sensors, allowing correlation of displacement, temperature, pressure and other physical parameters for test, research or process monitoring applications.
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