| |||||||||||
| News | |||||||||||
MAC PARTS TESTERSApril 28, 2010MAC'S EDDY CURRENT AND ELECRTOMAGNETIC PARTS TESTERS  Since 1928, MAC has provided a wide range of eddy current testing equipment to inspect flaws and conditions in springs, fasteners, and wire formed parts. The MultiMac® rotary and electronics along with the Varimac® and the Production Comparator (PC) are just three out of many MAC test systems.MAC has recently installed an eddy current MultiMac with a pick-and-place highly focused spinning probe rotary with high sensitivity and resolution along with the appropriate electronics. This system inspects precision ground fasteners with lands and grooves used in the automotive industry. The part is stopped inside the rotary where the “lands” are tested for seam and weld type defects. Since seams and welds run the entire length of the part, defect free product is assured. Other conditions detected include surface, subsurface, long continuous, or short defects. Cold drawn wire is also tested with a MultiMac rotary for seam type defects and insulated cable is tested for weld type defects including splices.
Fasteners, wire, cable, and other parts may be tested for alloy variations, hardness, heat treatment, case depth, geometry, cracks and other conditions using the Varimac or the PC. The part is placed in a vibratory or rotating bowl which feeds the parts through the tester coil and into the parts gate which can sort the parts into 2 or 3 categories: accept/reject; below; within, or above the designated level. Speeds can be as great as 6 parts per second.
Custom eddy current, ultrasonic, and flux leakage systems are also available for special conditions and components. MAC’S COMPREHENSIVE TEST SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMOTIVE AND OIL & GAS TUBEApril 28, 2010MAC’S COMPREHENSIVE TEST SYSTEMS FOR AUTOMOTIVE AND OIL & GAS TUBE
With over 80 years of experience, Magnetic Analysis Corp. (MAC) is uniquely able to provide complex eddy current, flux leakage, and ultrasonic, multitest systems complete with installation and training by its very knowledgeable field staff and representatives, worldwide. MAC’s superior technology incorporates test methods for magnetic and non-magnetic metal tube, bar, wire, plate and parts during the manufacturing process, on or off line, at production line speeds. Automotive pipe and parts as well as Oil Country Tubular Goods (OCTG) can be inspected using MAC’s exclusive and advanced NDT inspection systems. MAC offers eddy current systems to detect short surface, subsurface, OD/ID cracks, and weldline defects, including short transverse discontinuities; ultrasonic systems for material defects such as longitudinal and transverse cracks, inclusions, ID/OD and dimensional changes such as wall thickness, eccentricity and ovality; and Flux leakage systems to detect longitudinal and transverse defects on the OD and ID as well as defects within the wall.
MAC has recently installed a large ultrasonic (UT) inspection system at a European tube mill that is designed for an offline test of ERW carbon steel and other automotive tube. This system is complete with maximized automation and material handling for fast setup and operation, an inlet and outlet conveyor designed for the soft handling of tube via a custom built feed mechanism, automatic markers, and an automated constant center triple guide roll bench system. The "Conductor" control system operates all functions of the line utilizing a computer to set up for changes in diameter, end suppression, handling and sorting, plus data acquisition and network accessibility with remote viewing capability.
This system was custom designed to include 7 channels of Echomac® FD-4 ultrasonic electronics with a 75mm UT rotary test head to inspect 12.7mm to 76.2mm pipe diameters. 4 shear wave channels to detect surface and subsurface defects to normal industry specifications such as API, and 3 compression wave channels for delamination detection, and ID/OD diameter and wall thickness measurements are included. Other MAC ultrasonic systems have recently accommodated material diameter sizes from 6.35mm to 220mm with electronics up to 32 channels in a single chassis.
MAC’s eddy current test systems such as the Multimac®, Minimac®, or MAC400 may be used to inspect automotive pipe for surface, subsurface, OD/ID cracks, and weldline defects, including short transverse discontinuities. Recent systems are inspecting tube diameters ranging from 3.175mm to 196.85mm. MAC’s Varimac® eddy current Comparator and Production Comparator can be used to check alloy, heat treat or hardness in tube, or to sort parts such as fasteners, bearings, pistons, strut rods, and similar parts for physical characteristics that are either above or below specification. MAC systems can also incorporate a laser gauge where only the outside diameter of the tube is a concern.
For heavy wall magnetic OCTG such as line pipe and casing, including seamless, welded, hot rolled, straight or upset pipe, and other tubular products, MAC’s Rotoflux® flux leakage inspection system provides precise detection of longitudinal and transverse calibration notches or defects on the OD and ID, such as rolling skins, laps, cracks, laminations, cavities, and defects within the wall, as well as drilled holes that are specified for calibration. Diameters up to 406mm can be handled by the Rotoflux.
Several recent OCTG systems installed in Europe and Asia have included MAC’s 220 mm Rotoflux® transverse and longitudinal flux leakage systems, Demagnetizers, and 180 or 220 mm Echomac® UT to detect defects and laminations and to measure wall thickness. Mechanical handling and feed systems have included articulating roll feeds or inlet and outlet conveyors that are comprised of driven V-rolls that feed the tube through a constant center triple guide bench and transport the tube into accept or reject pockets. Water systems have included rotary transducer heads or squirter couplant systems. Heavy wall, hot rolled, straight or upset pipe and low –alloyed carbon steel, seamless tube with wall thickness up to 25 mm are some of the materials that are being tested. Automatic markers and a Conductor control panel complete the systems.
MAC’s leading flux leakage, ultrasonic and eddy current technology in custom, multitest systems provide tube manufacturers with comprehensive solutions to meet API and ASTM specifications. MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION TEST TECHNOLOGY FOR WIRE & BARApril 28, 2010
MAGNETIC ANALYSIS CORPORATION TEST TECHNOLOGY FOR WIRE & BAR
The detection of the few flaws that may occur in large production runs of metal wire or bars at production line speeds is best accomplished using the NDT techniques that are most capable of detecting the specific unacceptable conditions that are anticipated in the product.
For critical applications where the wire or bar must be free of surface, subsurface and internal defects of a variety of shapes and sizes, systems with multiple test stations at which dedicated techniques, based upon ultrasonic and eddy current methods, are often used. An example of this is shown in the accompanying picture of an automated test system for cold drawn bar. Included are an encircling differential coil eddy current tester for detecting short surface and subsurface defects such as slivers and pits; a spinning probe eddy current system to find long, surface defects such as seams; and a rotating transducer ultrasonic system for internal defects such as non metallic inclusions or stringers. Also included is an absolute coil eddy current system for detecting grade or alloy mix and a demagnetizer to minimize residual magnetism generated by the eddy current system when inspecting magnetic material.
These components are mounted on a constant center test bench with triple roll drives which are adjusted and controlled automatically through Conductor controls. This type of bench is especially useful for small diameter coil to bar installations, as small as 12 mm, where centering is critical.
By using multiple test methods, less false rejects will occur and fewer unacceptable defects will be missed than in a system using only one test method. The value of the investment is quickly returned through higher yields and fewer product claims. MAC INTRODUCES 220mm ROTARY ULTRASONIC TESTERMarch 24, 2009
The Echomac FD-4 Ultrasonic® rotary has been expanded to handle 220 mm diameter tube and pipe, often used for OCTG applications.
Magnetic Analysis Corporation’s has just expanded its line of Echomac® rotary ultrasonic test systems to handle 220 mm diameter tube and pipe, often used for OCTG applications. Prior models handled up to 180 mm diameter. Rotary ultrasonic systems have the advantage of allowing high throughput speeds combined with full body coverage. The 220 mm Echomac seal-less rotary spins the UT transducers and water couplant at speeds up to 850 rpm about the tube as it is fed through the test. The seal-less design ensures minimum maintenance, and the shear wave transducer holders are designed to allow for easy and accurate reconfiguration for different diameter tube through a simple rotational adjustment of the transducer offset. The pulser electronics, located on the rotary, allow for very low noise signal processing as the transducer pulse and initial detection is accomplished close to the transducer before going through the rotary transformers to the Echomac FD-4 instrumentation. The 220mm system uses Echomac FD-4 instrumentation with 14 transducer channels to detect longitudinal, transverse, and known angle oblique defects; wall thickness; ID/OD measurement and variations such as ovality. Using FD-4’s EchoHunter® software, each channel can be easily configured for any combination of thickness, dimensional measurement, and flaw detection. Features include simultaneous A-scan and strip chart display of all channels showing peak values of signals within each gate, and full network support for remote viewing and control. The flicker free A-scan captures non-repetitive events or flaws of short duration, even in very high speed UT scanning systems, typical of rotating transducer heads. A recent computer controlled Echomac 220mm UT system shipped to a tube mill in MAC TEST SYSTEM FOR TITANIUM RODMarch 24, 2009
To meet Aerospace specifications, MAC has coupled a Multimac® eddy current system to an Echomac® FD-4 ultrasonic system for testing Titanium bars.
Magnetic Analysis Corporation, a designer and manufacturer of nondestructive test systems for over 80 years, recently supplied a multi-test eddy current/ultrasonic system to inspect small diameter titanium bars and rods (2.54 mm to 31.75 mm). Testing criteria was AMS-2631B, Class AA for the ultrasonic test (Aerospace specifications) and typical eddy current inspection standards for the eddy current test.
By combining eddy current and ultrasonic technology in a comprehensive inspection system, superior test results can be obtained as each technique is used to detect the conditions that it is best suited to find. This particular system incorporates Echomac® FD-4 ultrasonic instrumentation, an Echomac Rotary which spins the transducers and water couplant around the bar, and a MultiMac eddy current instrument and test coil. The UT test uses 1 normal incidence and 2 shear wave transducers to inspect for surface and near-surface defects such as seams, spiral seams and light cracks as well as inclusions and deep voids. The eddy current single channel test compliments the UT test by detecting some very small surface seams or pitting that are poor reflectors of sound. The test system also includes air operated dual pinch stands designed to drive and position the test material accurately, a slide and elevate platform to adjust the UT Rotary, a water recirculation system for the couplant, and automatic markers. The system is mounted on a welded test bench and “learn controls” are included to automatically adjust the timing based on the initial test piece.
With manufacturing facilities in Mt. Vernon, New York, US, and Ostersund, Sweden, MAC designs, manufactures and installs test systems in bar and tube mills worldwide. Experienced sales engineers and representatives help customers to get the best possible inspection system for their particular application. In addition to the titanium test system described above, MAC has delivered large combined ultrasonic/ flux leakage systems to inspect 180 and 220 mm oil country tubular goods in Russia and India.
MAC UT/ET SYSTEM COMPLETED AT INTERPIPE NTRP IN UKRAINEAugust 14, 2008A large multi-test ultrasonic/ eddy current system has been installed at the Interpipe NTRP steel tube rolling mill in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. This MAC system includes a 10 channel Echomac® ultrasonic FD-4 and rotary to inspect for longitudinal and transverse defects and measure dimensions and wall thickness. Also included is a MAC 250 eddy current equipment to detect short surface defects, a Production Comparator to check steel grade, and a Demagnetizer to remove residual magnetism. The automated test system is mounted on a large test bench which includes a slide and elevate mechanism, coil platforms, and drives. MAC also supplied a complete recirculating water package and water chiller for the ultrasonic inspection test, and a bar wash to prepare the tube for testing. The system is designed to handle tube ranging from 1/2" to 6" diameter (12.7 mm to 152.4 mm). Installation of this system, along with a pipe end inspection test, enables NTRP to provide full non destructive testing of its steel pipe products, thereby improving its offering to customers. 
| |||||||||||
| Home | Top of Page | |||||||||||
|
