The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented surge in demand for healthcare and consumer products. This crisis has demanded stockpiles of supplies and has shifted the supply chain to local production. 

Almost every industry has seen explosive growth in additive manufacturing (AM or 3D printing) of metal components, either for prototyping or low to medium volume manufacture of often high value and safety critical parts.

Helium is in short supply and its cost is rising. Global sources may even run dry by the end of the century. And yet, it remains the dominant choice for trace-gas-based leak-testing on the production line. How can you make the most of this increasingly precious commodity for your critical quality assurance needs?

Since the early 1990s Lithium ion batteries have entered industrial markets as energy storage technology for mobile consumer electronics and battery-operated tools.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a nondestructive testing method that has been around for over 100 years. It is used in many industries and it has several specific applications that are very critical. So, what is it and how does it work?

Radiographic inspection is a critical practice across multiple industries, and the development of non-film radiography provides enormous, yet currently untapped, potential to share these images widely and maximize resources.

Consumer products have been transformed by the Internet of Things (IoT), the ability of smart connected devices to communicate and share information with each other. Now, IoT technology is expanding to NDT maintenance inspections and manufacturing QA/QC. 

I’m a Type-A personality with a sense of urgency to explain everything. Give me a little data, and I will use every statistical tool I can wrap around these rationalizations to help explain an observation. But here is something that I cannot explain: why do we tolerate such poor gages?

Inspecting components for e-mobility applications is something that David Wick is very familiar with.

With the right tools it’s possible to verify the quality of materials, suppliers and the final product.