Yxlon digital radiography system passes Nadcap audit
01/07/2013
With flying colours and zero NCRs (non-conformity reports), TITAL, a company specialising in investment casting, has passed the audit for digital radiography in accordance with the Nadcap AC7114/6 checklist, making it the first European supplier to the aviation and aerospace industry qualified to utilise digital radiography as the permitted method for quality inspection, it is claimed. In the course of auditing, TITAL received direct support from the new version of Y.IMAGE3500, software for analysing radiographic images, which has been incorporated as an upgrade into the Yxlon Y.MU2000-D digital X-ray inspection system. This software was optimised by engineers at Yxlon working together with the inspectors in charge at TITAL to provide maximum operator-friendliness.
“The audit went smoothly and very promptly, with no difficulties at all. The people in charge at Yxlon who had offered support prior to the audit, along with the colleagues at TITAL who were involved in the auditing process itself, performed first-class work,” said Frank Schulte, from Quality Management at TITAL, who was pleased to report on the ensuing successful certification.
In order to do justice to the AC7114/6 qualification process for non-destructive testing using a digital X-ray inspection system and fulfill the audit criteria posed, the first decisive step for TITAL was said to be the outstanding image quality of the Y.MU2000-D X-ray system, equipped with a digital flat-panel detector and Y.HDR-Inspect technology. The term ‘highly dynamic radioscopy’ (HDR) means that, on the one hand, a high degree of dynamics exists on the part of the detector in relation to material thickness and, on the other, a high degree of dynamics with regard to the image refresh rate. Using HDR, the qualities of inspection called for can be achieved very easily, even in the case of crucial aviation parts. In the past three years, highly dynamic radioscopy from Yxlon is said to have revolutionised inspection by means of X-rays.
In addition to qualification, on many points the checklist for Nadcap certification also refers to ASTM standards in the USA, for instance ASTM E2737 towards auditing long-term stability. Regular measurement of numerous image quality and detector parameters is called for here, whereby capturing such parameters without the appropriate software support would be very difficult, if at all possible. With the new release version of its Y.IMAGE3500 imaging software, Yxlon is offering functions that enable these measurements to be carried out automatically. As a result, Yxlon is laying down a first basis for certifying digital radiography in accordance with Nadcap stipulations.
Parallel to the certification in Bestwig, Germany, the 400th Y.MU2000 system sold went into operation at the new TITAL factory in Nantong, China. For TITAL, this is the third system from this series in deployment. Originally launched on the market in 1998, Y.MU2000 has evolved into the bestselling Yxlon X-ray system and set standards time and again.
Headquartered in Bestwig, Germany, TITAL is a leading manufacturer of sophisticated investment casting products made of titanium and aluminium alloys. Among other customers, the company actively supplies the largest producers in the aviation and aerospace industry worldwide. When it comes to quality assurance, TITAL plans to continue to invest in digital X-ray technology in the future.
Yxlon belongs to the Comet Holding AG (Switzerland) corporate group. The Comet FeinFocus division has been integrated into the corporate structure at Yxlon as a product line. With its headquarters in Hamburg, its subsidiaries and a globally-aligned network of representatives worldwide, Yxlon provides solutions for any type of production process and the same applies for servicing and maintenance work, whether in shipbuilding, pipe and vessel construction, the automotive, aviation and aerospace industries, or for microfocus inspection in the electronics industry.
www.yxlon.de
