High-Energy CT Service for Scanning Mid-Size Castings

Jesse Garant Metrology Center (Dearborn, Michigan) is announcing the launch of its new high-energy industrial computed tomography (CT) system. The company says it will be the only private lab in the world to provide this specialized inspection service, transforming the landscape for nondestructive testing and supporting advanced manufacturing.

The system is the first of its kind that pairs a 3-MeV, cone-beam X-ray source with a large-format, 2,000-square-pixel flat-panel digital detector. It will be able to accommodate rapid inspection of mid-size parts ranging to 44.5 inches in diameter and 63 inches in height. While existing high-energy CT services may take four to 16 hours to complete scans, the new system is able to scan parts in less than an hour, the company says.

The center’s capabilities are expected todirectly benefit the metalworking industry, allowing for feasible internal inspection of castings made from ferrous and nonferrous materials. This includes the identification of defects like porosity and inclusions, weld inspection, wall thickness analysis, first article inspection, and actual to nominal comparisons for out-of-tolerance features.

“We’re helping manufacturers qualify and validate cast parts that either weren’t possible because of limitations with existing technologies or weren’t feasible because the service was too costly or took too much time,” says President Jesse Garant. “We aim to support metal casting innovations by providing internal inspection of parts that would otherwise go into production without proper inspection.”

In addition to a drastic reduction in inspection time for parts and assemblies, the service will also enable the inspection of complex assemblies, allowing for cleaner separation of internal components and inspection of higher-density materials not possible with lower-energy systems.