Introduction
Many companies in the automotive industry still use destructive testing to make sure their spot welds meet their requirements. Destructive testing is time consuming and often provides inaccurate results. Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing test systems can help save companies time and money while providing a safer method with the most accurate results.
The Right System
Systems with 3D ultrasonic matrix phased array technology are at the leading edge of Non-Destructive testing systems. The systems use algorithms to receive data and provide the most accurate feedback to the user in real time. The user simply enters in the parameters of the spot weld and the system will automatically provide an A-Scan and a C-Scan image of the spot weld. The system provides the diameter of the spot weld along with the thickness and whether or not it meets the minimum requirements to be considered a good weld.
A good system should be easy to learn and use and eliminate the potential for human error. Users should be able to become proficient with a system in less than a day. Weld Engineers will want to learn the system at a deeper level and should become proficient within a few days and learn all they need to know with added experience.
Some companies experience over 20-fold improvement in time and labor while obtaining more accurate results. This allows them to see almost real time feedback on the quality of the spot welds they are producing. The time it takes to inspect a spot weld is as little as three seconds per weld.
A good system will automatically capture the results of each test, which eliminates the possibility of human error and allows for better data to enable better weld equipment maintenance planning. This leads to better welds overall and much less waste of parts that get produced due to the length of time it takes to do destructive testing.
Conclusion
It is well worth the time and money it takes to find a good system to help your production team be far more efficient and effective at inspecting spot welds. The ROI on a good system is well worth the time and effort to implement them.