World
leading ultrasonic
inspection systems and instruments
     
     
For more than 20 years we have supplied automated and semi-automated ultrasonic testing
systems to meet the requirements of the most demanding customers throughout the
world. These incorporate our highly versatile PC based ultrasonic instruments
with an unrivalled combination of sensitivity, signal to noise ratio and
immunity to external noise sources.
We design and manufacture the complete system, including
mechanical scanning units, electrical / electronic control, ultrasonics and
software. You can rely on us to ensure that whatever system you need, it will
perform quickly and reliably to the highest standards.
We
can provide equipment designed to solve a specific inspection problem or
suitable for general purpose applications. The systems can be used for
generation of ultrasonic images of components using scanning mechanisms coupled
with data acquisition electronics, or they can automatically sort materials into
accept or reject categories.
Click
on the "products" link at the top of this page to see a selection of
the products we manufacture. The systems are divided into specific types - for
example immersion systems, squirter systems and so on. You
can see our latest Newsletter on the Download page.
LATEST NEWS FEBRUARY 2010
An advanced immersion inspection system has been supplied to a
UK manufacturer of aerospace components. Although this is a relatively small
system, it is the most complex machine that USL has built in terms of the
number of axes used during a scan and the amount of data acquired during the
scan.
There are 12 axes in total - X, X1, X2, Y1, Y2, Z1, Z2, A1,
A2, B1, B2 and R. These are used in combination to scan complex composite
products which are held in a rotating fixture shown in the picture below. The
principal scan axis is in the Z direction, with all other axes moving at the
same time to maintain normal incidence and alignment of transducers on both
sides of the part. Multi gate C scan data is acquired in both pulse echo and
through transmission modes and full waveform data is stored simultaneously for
processing later.
Pulse echo data is acquired in linear amplifier mode with DAC
(distance amplitude correction) and through transmission data in logarithmic
mode, giving an optimum combination of results for evaluation of the product.
This picture shows a calibration standard mounted in the
rotating fixture to check for alignment of the manipulators on both sides
A steelworks in Austria has ordered a second immersion system
from USL to be used for automated quality control checking of billet samples.
The system will scan multiple cross sectional slices in a "step and
repeat" mode, automatically adjusting the water path on each sample so
that the results are comparable across all samples, even when the section
thickness varies.
A second "ICAM" acoustic microscope will be supplied
to a UK manufacturer of electrical components for routine inspection of brazed
products. The system generates records of "% voids" at the joint
interface by analysing C scan images using simple analysis routines. The
original machine will also be upgraded to the current hardware and software
standard. The systems will be used not only in the UK factory but also in a
new factory recently completed in Shanghai, China.
A laboratory scanning system at Oxford University has been
upgraded with the latest USL PM30 Pulser Receiver and 250MHz analog - digital
converter, together with our latest scan utility software. This enables
researchers to generate multiple gate C scan images and to acquire and process
full waveform data. The system was first supplied in 1993 incorporating an
expansion crate with the ultrasonic, motion control and data acquisition
electronics. These are now all housed in the desktop PC.
We have doubled our
production area by expanding into an adjacent building, giving us a total
area of around 19,000 square feet. Combined with increases in staff levels,
this will enable us to expand our capacity to meet the high level of current
and expected orders during 2010 and 2011.
A multi-purpose system (shown below) has been installed at a
UK aerospace manufacture, capable of performing a number of different
inspection tasks on widely differing components, including:
1. Testing bonded joints on shafts up to 4m long located on
a turntable, using a double through transmission method.
2. Testing electron beam welded joints from the internal and
external surfaces, using pulse echo and through transmission modes.
3. Testing composite tubes on a roller system.
4. Testing forged and machined titanium alloy products.
In some of these applications the automated inspection
replaces a laborious manual task, whilst in the bonded joints application the
inspection time is reduced by a factor of about 10X in comparison with the
previous method.
Read an article about some of the latest USL
developments in the "Aerospace Testing International 2010 Review"
at: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/2d772b66#/2d772b66/90
or alternatively get the article from our download page.
Factory acceptance trials on a 17 axis complex
geometry squirter inspection system have been successfully completed at USL.
The system will now be partially dismantled for transport and
installation at BAE SYSTEMS in Samlesbury, UK, joining two other similar
systems on the same site. The system has 10 simultaneous scanning axes, 5
programmable motorised fixture axes and 2 "axes" which actively
control the pump speed for the squirters.
The acceptance trials included not only
functional tests on representative composite parts, but also EMC testing
together with PUWER and CE certification assessment by an accredited third
party.
USL has installed an upgraded ultrasonic, data
acquisition and motion control system on a Krautkramer scanner at a UK
aerospace R&D laboratory. The upgrade provides a comprehensive ultrasonic
capability, with software for multi-gate C scan imaging together with full RF
acquisition and processing.
-
2009 New orders - immersion
systems
Recent orders have been placed for three immersion systems
by two different UK customers. One will be used for automated thickness
monitoring of diffusion bonded fan blades, with two way links with the customers CAD system. This will upload the optically measured surface profile,
which will be used to modify pre-programmed ultrasonic scan routines so that
they will perfectly match the component. The thickness measurement data will
then be downloaded back to the CAD system for analysis.
Two special purpose systems have also been ordered for an
engineering application. These are 4 axis systems incorporating a bubbler
probe, with the capability for programmed contour following of
roto-symmetrical parts.
-
2009
Installation and acceptance -
immersion inspection system for composites
A 5 axis immersion system for composite inspection has been
installed at BAE SYSTEMS. This has two separate functions, depending on the
type of part to be tested. For complex geometry components, it uses a single
transducer to follow surface contours. For flat and single curvature parts
multi element phased array probes are used to achieve high speed inspections.
For example with a 128 element array probe scanning at a 1mm inspection pitch,
a throughput of 1 m2 per minute can be achieved, thanks to a
recent development of USL's PHASYS array electronics.
- 2009 New Orders - 2
complex geometry systems for composite inspection
Contracts have been signed with two new customers in
China and Malaysia for the supply of
complex geometry squirter inspection systems for composite materials. These
companies are major suppliers of composite parts to Boeing, Airbus and other
aircraft manufacturers. These systems will be the 9th and 10th
systems of this type supplied by USL in recent years.
In common with other
systems of its type, these will perform the following functions simultaneously
in the same scan:
A. Contour
following of complex shapes at high speed.
B. Through
transmission inspection using a logarithmic amplifier.
C. Pulse
echo inspection from both sides using a linear amplifier.
D. Full RF
waveform acquisition.
Double click on the picture to see a video
(This is NORMAL scanning speed, and is not increased to
make it look better!)
Machines with this configuration are currently in operation in UK,
Netherlands and China with further systems in manufacture for UK and
Denmark.
-
2009 Delivery - 3 upgraded systems for inspection of titanium fan blades
A third upgraded immersion system has been
delivered to Rolls Royce for C scan inspection of bonded titanium alloy fan blades.
Previously
two separate inspections were necessary, but using our advanced ultrasonic
capability we are able to combine the two
tests into a single scan. We can carry out C scan inspections using a logarithmic and linear
amplifier at the same time and using the same probe.
In addition to upgrading the ultrasonics and data
acquisition, an additional rotary motion axis has been added, together with
special fixtures to hold and rotate the blades during the inspection.
The systems were originally manufactured by Meccasonics with
entirely analogue control and acquisition - it is now fully digital. A third
system will be upgraded in the near future.
-
Acceptance -
12 axis combined squirter and immersion C scan system
Acceptance
has been completed of a combined squirter and immersion system at the
National Aerospace Research Centre (NLR) in the Netherlands. This
comprises a 12 axis scanner with a 3.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 metre scan volume and a
turntable, together with a motorised removable immersion tank.
 
The system design allows very versatile operation including:
Squirter inspection using through transmission (TT) and pulse echo (PE)
techniques
Immersion inspection, also using TT and PE
Squirter and immersion inspection using a turntable
Scanning of complex geometry components
Click on the link below to see a video produced by
NLR.
http://www.nlr.nl/smartsite.dws?l=&id=10671
- Installation -
Propeller blade inspection system
A new 6 axis immersion system has been installed at a UK manufacturer of
composite propeller blades. This is the second system of its type at this
customer, the first having been in continuous production use for more than 9 years.
In common with the earlier unit, the new system will store the full RF
waveform during scanning over the blade profile and following the surface
contours, with B scan images being viewed offline while a new scan is taking
place
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