The Minimac® 50/55 for detecting short surface and some subsurface defects at speeds up to 4000 f.p.m. will be at the booth, along with videos of the instrument using a linear rail eddy current coil holder while testing ½” diameter stainless steel tube. This eddy current instrument is also often used for inspecting welding wire, including flux core wire where it can detect missing flux as well as flaws in the wire itself. Finding weld-line faults in tube and checking continuity in single and multi-conductor insulated wire and cable are other applications. Using an MID option, the Minimac® is also very effective for detecting magnetic inclusions in non-magnetic product. MAC’s MultiMac® 8 channel eddy current instrument is widely used to detect surface defects and laps in cold drawn wire and high-speed operations.

Information will be available on MAC’s Echomac® PA TW Phased Array UT Robot system, installed recently at a US tube mill. This new system is uniquely able to measure the tube profile and monitor the scarfing trim tool operation in the heat affected zone, often within 40 feet of the welder, at temperatures up to 252F (122C). This upstream location in the weld line gives the operator instant feedback when the scarfing tool is bad or bro­ken, allowing immediate adjustment of the welding operation and saving many feet of would-be tube scrap. Real time B and C-scan views of the quality of the weld and seam-trim tool alert the operator to issues such as undercuts and other failures with the scarfing process. High PRF can be used based on thickness to get a detailed weld profile with high resolution and no averaging or AGC is used for processing the data. A key feature of this system is the minimal operator inter­vention during operation. The wide coverage of the test head can handle typ­ical shifts in the weld location, and the electronically con­trolled transducers can vary the pulse timing of the individ­ual elements to inspect with multiple angles, if needed, all without any manual intervention.  Installation can also be in a lower temperature area below 140F (60C) for ID/OD longitudinal flaw detection and profile monitoring, after the forming and shaping operation.

Information on MAC’s full range of eddy current, ultrasonic and flux leakage test systems for inspecting tube, bar and wire will be available at the booth. MAC’s 90+ years developing and supplying nondestructive test equipment and systems to tube, bar, and wire manufacturers ensures a thorough understanding of customer inspection needs.