News
21/06/2021 CAN strengthens international presence with contract award in Angola
CAN Group has announced the award of a substantial contract with a major oil and gas operator in Angola, further strengthening its international presence.
21/06/2021 Scotland’s new training school
IMechE Fife NDT will be opening its doors in July 2021, offering a full range of courses, including MT, PT, VT, WI, RI and UT. Based in Dunfermline, it is also said to be the first training school in Scotland to offer the advanced courses of ET, TOFD and PAUT.
16/06/2021 Monitoring technology for earthquake-prone regions
California-based QuakeLogic and SignaGuard have announced the development of a breakthrough process that combines the proprietary technology of both companies for structural health monitoring in earthquake-prone regions such as the Himalayas.
15/06/2021 Pipe elbow inspection scanner
Zetec Inc, a global leader in non-destructive testing (NDT) technology, has introduced the ElbowFlex™ scanner for quick manual ultrasonic inspections of pipe elbows in oil & gas, petrochemical, power generation, manufacturing and other industrial applications.
14/06/2021 Growth in global industrial vibration and condition monitoring markets
Technavio has announced the release of its two latest reports. The first, on the industrial vibration sensor market, is segmented by product (displacement sensor, acceleration sensor and velocity sensor), end-user (process industries and discrete industries) and geography (Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America). The report offers an in-depth analysis of recent developments, changes in market regulations, product approvals, product launches and the market behaviour across various segments.
14/06/2021 NASA’s Perseverance rover commences cutting-edge scientific measurements on Mars with Finnish equipment
The USA National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Perseverance rover has now spent its first few months on the surface of Mars. The testing and deployment phase is proceeding well and, after the first technology demonstration with the Ingenuity helicopter, the rover is commencing the continuous scientific measurements. With the arrival of the humidity and pressure measurement instruments on board Perseverance, the first meteorological network on another planet is being created.
11/06/2021 Ashtead Technology awarded funding for unmanned digital twinning project
Welaptega, an Ashtead Technology company, has launched a US$500,000 (approximately £355,000) initiative to develop a product to enable digital twinning of underwater infrastructure without the need for offshore personnel.
11/06/2021 Element expands further into German calibration market with KDK acquisition
Element Materials Technology (Element) has acquired Kalibrierdienst Kopp GmbH (KDK), a market-leading calibration and measurement services provider, significantly strengthening the Group’s calibration business in Germany.
10/06/2021 Dual-element transducers
Olympus’s new DC series (DC1 to DC5) dual-element transducers provide inspectors with a complete corrosion monitoring toolbox for pipeline and tank integrity. Optimised for corrosion and thin materials, the transducers work with the non-destructive testing instruments and ultrasonic inspection procedures used in the oil & gas, energy and mining industries.
10/06/2021 Phased array instrument
The MicroPulse 6PA 128/256 is the latest mains-powered phased array instrument from Peak NDT. The system has retained the existing MicroPulse command language and data reporting structures; therefore, this can be a seamless upgrade from the MicroPulse 5.
09/06/2021 Lavender International launches new TFM training course
As a global provider of NDT training, Lavender International is expanding its advanced ultrasonic course offering by introducing a new total focusing method (TFM) course.
08/06/2021 Schaeffler and Siemens to cooperate on intelligent diagnostics for drive systems
Electric motors drive core industrial processes and the rolling bearing is their central mechanical component. The bearings experience all of the loads and stresses that occur in the electric motor. Therefore, bearing diagnostics provide a crucial indicator of the overall condition and reliability of a motor. In addition to developing a portfolio of condition monitoring solutions for operators, the automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler is also working with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers such as Siemens on joint offerings to increase the availability of machinery and equipment.
08/06/2021 Hitachi Rail acquires Perpetuum
Hitachi Rail has completed its acquisition of digital technology company Perpetuum, which will give Hitachi a broader portfolio of maintenance services.
03/06/2021 Inspection times halved at vehicle transmissions manufacturer
At the USA transmission plant of a global automotive manufacturing group, component inspection times have been reduced by half or more following the decision to partner with LK Metrology Inc, which has upgraded all of the on-site computer numerical control (CNC) coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) to use five-axis scanning technology in addition to touch probing. The metrology company, based in Brighton, Michigan, is the USA subsidiary of British CMM manufacturer LK Metrology Ltd, which built 19 of the 26 CMMs in use at the USA factory. Two are on the shop floor, while the others are installed in five different quality control (QC) rooms.
03/06/2021 New £1.6 million project to develop autonomous fleet of drones for offshore wind farm inspection
A swarm of drones might soon take the place of humans dangling on ropes to carry out routine close-up safety inspections of offshore wind turbines.
01/06/2021 DNV and partners launch new research project to develop automated verification of offshore wind turbine inspection results
DNV has launched a new collaborative research project to develop an automated data processing procedure for verification of detected wind turbine blade defects, with the aim of building trust and generating broader acceptance of automated data processing techniques across the industry and to inform future regulation.
27/05/2021 Online vibration monitoring system upgrade
SPM Instrument AB has received an order for a total of 154 sensors for the replacement of an older SPM system on the drive side of the drying section on Hallsta’s PM12 paper machine in Sweden.
27/05/2021 SKF given excellence award
The SKF Cooper sealed split spherical roller bearing, said to be the only sealed split spherical roller bearing currently on the market, has earned a 2020 Manufacturer Excellence Award for Innovation in Product Design from the Bearing Specialists Association (BSA). This the third BSA Manufacturer Excellence Award for SKF. The company was honoured in 2019 for the SKF Pulse vibration sensor and mobile app and in 2017 for the SKF Multilog On-line System.
27/05/2021 Onyx Insight signs wind farm deal
Data analytics company Onyx InSight has been selected by Eurus to monitor and analyse the health and performance of 33 wind turbines at two wind farms in Japan.
26/05/2021 Join the Big Engineering Conversation to drive change
EngineeringUK is inviting the engineering community to take part in the Big Engineering Conversation, a new campaign to encourage discussion and realise the ambition to increase the diversity and number of young people entering engineering.
26/05/2021 Rolls-Royce announces service agreement with Uganda Airlines
Rolls-Royce has signed a TotalCare® agreement with new customer Uganda Airlines for their two new Airbus A330neo aircraft powered exclusively by Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. Uganda Airlines received the first A330neo in December 2020 and the second in January 2021.
25/05/2021 Applus+ acquires Inecosa and Adícora from Iberdrola
Applus+, a global testing, inspection and certification company, has announced the acquisition of 100% of Inecosa and Adícora, which are two separate subsidiary companies of the Iberdrola Group. The two companies will form part of the Energy & Industry division of Applus+.
25/05/2021 LK Metrology optimistic after three years of independence
LK Metrology, the Derbyshire, UK-based coordinate measuring machine (CMM) manufacturer, is this year celebrating its 58th anniversary as a fully independent company once again, following a change of ownership in 2018. The company pioneered CMM technology and its name is linked to numerous innovations, such as ceramic bridge design, air bearing and granite guideways, carbon fibre composite spindles and horizontal-arm coordinate measuring.
24/05/2021 Wärtsilä provides support for Siem Offshore vessels
Finland-based company Wärtsilä has signed an agreement with Siem Offshore covering reduction in emissions and predictive maintenance for two well intervention vessels.
24/05/2021 Schaeffler receives Red Dot Design Award in two categories with OPTIME
The innovative condition monitoring solution OPTIME is a winner of this year’s Red Dot Design Award in two categories. A jury composed of designers, professors and journalists from various specialist fields awarded OPTIME in the categories of ‘Smart Product’ and ‘Industrial Design’, thus confirming the outstanding product design, functional configuration and high level of innovation demonstrated by the digital service solution from Schaeffler.
20/05/2021 Teledyne e2v and Yumain announce collaboration to create AI-based imaging solutions for machine vision
Teledyne e2v, a Teledyne Technologies company and global innovator of imaging solutions, has announced a new technology and industrial collaboration with Yumain, a leading artificial intelligence (AI) vision solutions provider serving a broad range of industrial applications. Together, the companies will develop cutting-edge bio-inspired vision solutions that can enable innovation in industrial applications.
20/05/2021 In-line XRF analyser
The new Vanta iX in-line X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyser automates material analysis and alloy ID on the manufacturing line, delivering instant results for real-time process monitoring and 100% inspection. Designed to operate 24/7, the analyser streamlines quality inspections for metal fabrication and geoprocessing.
18/05/2021 Screening Eagle Technologies welcomes new Chief Sales Officer
Screening Eagle Technologies is excited to welcome Darren Burford to its leadership team in the newly created position of Chief Sales Officer.
18/05/2021 CAN secures DNVGL approval for remote inspection techniques
CAN Group has announced that it has received approval from DNVGL to provide remote inspection techniques as an alternative inspection solution for the classification surveys of the structures of ships and mobile offshore units.
13/05/2021 FLIR dual-vision cameras for automatic incident detection keep Norwegian tunnels safe
FLIR was selected to provide intelligent dual-vision cameras with embedded automatic incident detection (AID) to be installed in the new Hundvåg and Eiganes tunnels in Norway. The cameras now alert tunnel operators on a variety of possible traffic incidents, including stopped vehicles, lost cargo and pedestrians, allowing emergency services to react quickly.
11/05/2021 Baugh & Weedon partner Tecnitest successfully completes installation of automated UT part inspection system at CERN
Tecnitest Ingenieros SL has successfully completed the development and installation of an automatic ultrasonic (UT) part inspection system for the non-destructive testing (NDT) service at CERN’s Group for Mechanical and Materials Engineering.
10/05/2021 Altera Infrastructure contract award bolsters Bilfinger’s inspection growth strategy
Leading operations, maintenance and asset integrity contractor Bilfinger Salamis UK has secured a three-year global support contract to provide offshore execution services, including inspection and enactment services, to Altera Infrastructure Production AS.
07/05/2021 Conservation-quality 3D scanning platform for commercial art world launched
Arius Technology Inc, a world-leading art technology company, has partnered with Crozier, a global leader in fine arts logistics and an Iron Mountain business, to provide clients with ultra-high-resolution imaging previously unavailable to the commercial art world. The core of the technology, known as the Art Digital Master File (ADMF™) platform, will transform analytics, documentation and visualisation of art, bringing art collectors into the digital age of art preservation and stewardship.
07/05/2021 RAEng President comments on ODA and Horizon Europe funding
Commenting on the importance of maintaining funding for research and innovation and international partnerships, Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), said: “World-leading scientific research coupled with engineering innovation provides the lifeblood of economic success in the modern world and international cooperation is essential for the success of Global Britain. While economic circumstances are challenging, it was very disappointing that research and innovation programmes suffered severely when international development expenditure was reduced from 0.7% to 0.5% of UK gross national income (GNI), despite appeals from across the charity and research sectors to the Foreign Secretary.
06/05/2021 Brüel & Kjær Vibro acquired by NSK
Brüel & Kjær Vibro (B&K Vibro), a leading independent supplier of condition monitoring solutions for rotating machinery, has been acquired by NSK, a global organisation specialising in the research, design and manufacture of motion and control solutions.
06/05/2021 Ynvisible and SpotSee announce collaboration
Ynvisible Interactive Inc, located in Vancouver, Canada, has announced its first customer collaboration to bring new temperature indication solutions to market with Dallas-based SpotSee, a global provider of shock, vibration and temperature monitoring through low-cost connectivity and data. Both companies are partners in the CHARISMA project, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme.
04/05/2021 Baker Hughes signs agreement to acquire ARMS Reliability
Baker Hughes has announced it is acquiring ARMS Reliability, a leading global provider of reliability solutions to some of the world’s largest industrial companies across a wide range of industries including mining, oil & gas, power, manufacturing and utilities. The acquisition deepens Baker Hughes’ industrial asset performance management (APM) capabilities and will expand the company’s industrial asset management offerings.
04/05/2021 ABS Consulting brings ultrasonic testing technology developed for NASA to offshore assets
ABSG Consulting Inc (ABS Consulting) has signed an exclusive global licensing agreement to offer an innovative ultrasonic non-destructive testing (NDT) solution that supports the expanded use of composite materials on offshore assets to extend service life.
29/04/2021 IIoT solution optimises uptime
Svendborg Brakes says that its newly launched Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solution is empowering the mining industry to boost its operations.
28/04/2021 Roll service and condition monitoring agreement extended
Valmet and Shanying International Holdings Co Ltd have signed an agreement for an additional three years of Valmet’s roll maintenance and condition monitoring services at the company’s Anhui mill in China.
27/04/2021 Bolt condition monitoring
Valley Forge & Bolt, based in Phoenix, USA, is taking its SPC4® Load Indicating Technology to a new level with the UHF Band RTM™ Meter, a wireless bolt monitoring system.
27/04/2021 AI software for CNC machine tool monitoring
Switzerland-based NUM has launched artificial intelligence (AI) software that provides computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool users with condition monitoring capabilities.
26/04/2021 New vibration energy-harvesting generators
Replacing batteries in Internet of Things (IoT) devices is said to be the number one problem limiting the exponential adoption of the IoT. This is driving significant developments in ultra-low-power microprocessors, new IoT-centric communication standards, ‘always awake’ smart sensors and energy harvesting. Xidas claims to have revolutionised energy harvesting for Industrial IoT by releasing the industry’s first high-power-output, vibration-based energy-harvesting generator (the VEG series) in a small footprint, with prices similar to those of industrial batteries.
26/04/2021 Brüel & Kjær introduces Vibrostore 100
Brüel & Kjær (B&K) Vibro has launched Vibrostore 100, a palm-sized device that provides vibration level and bearing wear monitoring for balance-of-plant machines at the push of a button.
21/04/2021 Airbus support for RAAF
Airbus Defence & Space has secured a contract from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to use data analytics to better support the air refuelling boom system used by the service’s A330 multi-role tanker transports (MRTTs).
21/04/2021 ADI’s CBM development platform
Analog Devices (ADI) in Massachusetts, USA, has introduced a condition-based monitoring (CBM) development platform designed to help accelerate condition monitoring hardware, software and algorithm development.
19/04/2021 X-ray detector
Bruker Corporation, a global market leader in X-ray diffraction (XRD) instrumentation, and Dectris, a technology leader in hybrid photon counting (HPC) detectors for laboratory instrumentation and synchrotron beamlines, have introduced the Eiger2 R 250K X-ray detector, the latest member in the Eiger2 R series of HPC pixel detectors.
19/04/2021 Breakthrough electric utility predictive analytics
Koch Engineered Solutions (KES) companies Sentient Energy and OnPoint Digital Solutions have announced a partnership that combines their deep domain expertise and complementary capabilities to create targeted predictive analytics outcomes for electric utilities. The companies claim that the collaboration brings together extensive electrical, environmental and other situational data with the speed and machine learning power of performance analytics to produce a uniquely valuable grid management tool.
16/04/2021 SpotSee acquisition
SpotSee, a global leader in supply chain condition monitoring through its ShockLog, ShockWatch, ShockWatch RFID, TiltWatch and WarmMark brands and connectivity solutions, has announced that it has acquired TMC Hallcrest and LCR Hallcrest, two global leaders in temperature monitoring products and indicators.
16/04/2021 Gram & Juhl’s new cloud platform
KK Wind Solutions subsidiary Gram & Juhl, located in Vojens, Denmark, has added a cloud platform to its Turbine Condition Monitoring (TCM) portfolio.
