Mike Terrell is the quality assurance manager at B&B Airparts Inc., a machine shop that specializes in manufacturing high precision parts for aerospace OEMs. B&B Airparts Inc. has been in business for over twenty years, offering machining, sheet metal fabrication, and assembly capabilities.

Materials testing and characterization is often a lengthy process. It can take more than a year and billions of testing cycles for a manufacturer to characterize the properties of a new metal alloy to be used in a critical application, such as a component of an automotive or jet engine. 

In the automotive industry, quality control/assurance has often focused on the physical testing and evaluation of raw materials and finished products. From a safety perspective, it is imperative that the strength of these materials and products meets established standards. Tensile, compression, bending and hardness tests are used for these evaluations.

When we talk to customers who are interested in learning more about XRF, there are some questions that we answer all the time. Check out some of the most frequently asked questions and their answers below.

Manufacturing often involves the fabrication of products that are made up of multiple smaller parts or components. Assembling these parts into finished products can be complex and labor intensive. 

As developments in machine learning and the Internet of Things (IoT) impact how manufacturers run their businesses, automation can support these changes and boost productivity.

Electroless nickel (EN) is industry’s most common plated finish. It’s widely used for applications that demand wear resistance, hardness and corrosion protection—particularly if parts have complex geometries. It is also used in PCB manufacturing within a process known as ENIG, electroless nickel immersion gold. 

Eddy current testing (ECT) is an electromagnetic testing technique used to inspect non-ferromagnetic materials, and eddy current array (ECA) is an advanced form of ECT that allows efficient scanning over larger areas.