Nikon Metrology to deliver the most powerful industrial microfocus CT system in North America to Chesapeake Testing
14/10/2010
Nikon Metrology has announced that Chesapeake Testing has ordered a combined 225-450 kV microfocus X-ray and computer tomography (CT) system. Chesapeake Testing primarily selected this powerful inspection system for its highly accurate 450 kV source, said to be the only microfocus X-ray source at this energy. The system’s powerful source, walk-in bay and panel shift capability allow Chesapeake Testing to scan large objects up to 39" wide (991 mm) made of dense materials such as metals, ceramics and composites. The system perfectly fits in Chesapeake Testing’s strategy to further extend the experimentation and testing services it provides to defence, aviation and automotive customers.Chesapeake Testing in Belcamp, Maryland, USA, provides ballistic experimentation and testing services in support of protection systems research, certification and compliance testing. A key application Chesapeake Testing plans to use the new X-ray and CT system for is performing inspection on ballistic-resistant personal body armour.
“To meet our clients’ testing requirements, we needed a CT system capable of having X-rays penetrate through thick armour specimens,” says Jim Foulk, Chesapeake Testing’s President/CEO. “This is only possible using a walk-in system that incorporates a 450 kV X-ray source.”
There are a number of high-power sources out there on the market, but Chesapeake Testing opted for Nikon Metrology’s proprietary 450 kV microfocus source. The spot size of this X-ray source is orders of magnitude finer than competitive minifocus sources, offering users superior resolution and accuracy as well as a wider array of measurable parts. This is essential for Chesapeake Testing’s CT imaging facility that is available to partners and third parties. The facility is expected to attract an increasing number of customers, in particular companies active in automotive and aviation.
Foulk told NDT News: “Armed with the new industrial X-ray and CT system, we are able to offer our customers unmatched capabilities in non-destructive testing, 3D inspection and reverse engineering applications. Applications are diverse, ranging from inspection of small precision machine components to large ceramic and composite structures. We are already partnered with the SURVICE Metrology Center on an important Air Force research grant to use this new facility for the inspection of gas turbine engine blades.”
To support the inspection of turbine blades, the system is equipped with a proprietary curved detector that minimises X-ray scatter. The winning combination of a powerful microfocus source and a curved detector produces unmatched accuracy, which now becomes a benchmark in North America.
The new system to be installed at Chesapeake Testing captures detailed X-ray images using a premium 16" x 16" imaging panel. Subsequently, a 3D CT volume is reconstructed that you can navigate as if you are walking through the specimen. “Following this intuitive approach, companies using our CT facility instantly trace otherwise invisible assembly errors or structural material imperfections,” explains Foulk. “The detailed insight they acquire helps them optimise their products and realise higher quality standards in less time.”
Chesapeake Testing customers are not restricted to run CT on parts up to 12" wide, as is the case with a standard system. “Thanks to the system’s walk-in bay and panel shifting capability, our customers are able to take CT scans of parts up to 39 inches wide, providing over 30 times the default scan volume. In fact it is the first commercial CT system in the US that deals with specimens of this size.”
www.nikonmetrology.com
