Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) continue to be widely used to accurately measure manufactured parts. They can only measure the visible, accessible part of a part's surface, and are mainly used to measure the deviation of a part's surface from a nominal model. CMMs cannot measure inside the structure of a part or material.
X-ray tomography has been around for almost fifty years. Improvements to the original detector and technology, in addition to advances in reconstruction in recent years, have enabled the acquisition of high-quality, high-resolution data that can provide important information for characterizing a material or detecting indications within a part. The data resulting from these techniques are digital models on which analysis can be performed to better understand the structure of the material or observe defects. Whether you want to observe a ceramic filter and analyze its porosity and permeability, or study a wooden part and define its strength according to the orientation and length of its fibers, or analyze a composite fin of a jet engine to detect bonding or interlocking defects, or the presence of debris or foreign objects, all these characterizations and detections are now possible on these digital models thanks to Avizo (FEI) software.
Shortening the development cycle helps reduce costs and enables faster adoption of new technologies. The ability to monitor quality increases productivity and delivers better output at the end of the production chain. It also ensures that production meets quality standards, reduces the risk of failure, complies with increased safety regulations and cuts defect-related expenses.
The analysis process begins with a visualization phase. The data is loaded into Avizo, and various visualization techniques are used to assess the quality of the data collected. Obtaining usable figures depends on the quality of the data coming from the acquisition system. This phase is used to validate part conformity and visually detect defects.
Analysis is the next step, during which the relevant figures are calculated from the data for characterization or quantification purposes. During this phase, the application can perform the same types of measurements produced by a CMM, but on a digital model. Distances, diameters and angles can be measured directly on the 3D visualization. It is also during this phase that porosities are quantified on the porous material, and their location, size and shape, as well as their distance from the surface of the part, are calculated. All this information contributes to the characterization of the material, assigning permeability or tortuosity properties, for example.
Avizo integrates a recipe system that enables such a quantification or inspection process to be automated. Traceability is also of great importance in the inspection process. Tracing the origin of a given result, the type of processing applied to produce the part, documenting the results of an analysis, archiving and sharing them are all important Avizo features.
Having tomographic data at your disposal is a major asset, but the real goal is to obtain accurate, relevant figures. Characterizing and inspecting this data with Avizo reduces the design cycle, shortens time-to-market for new materials and parts, and enables early detection of defects, so you can count on higher yields and better quality on the production line.
Learn more: www.amira-avizo.com