Groby, UK. On November 18, GE’s Inspection Technologies business opened a Technology Solutions Center in the UK to provide customers with a facility to evaluate GE’s nondestructive testing (NDT) technologies to solve their specific inspection problems. The new Technical Solutions Center (TSC), the first in the UK, is located in Ratby, near Leicester, just 1.5 miles from the Groby manufacturing site of GE Measurement & Control.
The TSC in Ratby showcases GE’s radiographic X-ray solutions including advanced computed tomography (CT) equipment, the advanced computed radiography scanner CRxVision, portable digital detector arrays, and the x|cube compact 225 for radioscopic casting inspection. The new center is permanently staffed by applications engineers, who are experts in the various inspection technologies and can provide advice and help in their application.
“The establishment of a dedicated industrial radiography center in the UK is part of our strategy to bring new technology close to our customers and help them solve their greatest application challenges,” said Juan Mario Gomez, general manager, radiography. “As digital radiography and advanced CT technology continue to become more common in industrial production and field environments, we are poised to further help our customers.”
The inspection technology highlight of the new center is the phoenix v|tome|x m 300, a compact computed-tomography (CT) system for scientific research applications, as well as 3D metrology and failure analysis for industrial process control. The v|tome|x m 300 provides detail detectability down to < 1 micron and can be used with high-density samples up to 50 kg at 300 kV. It features GE’s extremely high dynamic DXR digital detector array and click&measure|CT fully automated data acquisition and volume processing for fast, easy and productive scanning and reliable CT evaluations.
The x|cube compact 225 is a versatile X-ray system, offering real-time 2D inspection, with the option of 3D computed tomography. It is particularly suitable for the inspection of safety-relevant castings in the aerospace and automotive sectors but can be applied wherever there is a need for fast and effective radiography of castings, composite structures, plastics, ceramics, and special alloys. As with CRxVision, x|cube can be supplied with GE’s Flash!Filters proprietary image optimization technology to assist failure detection and increase productivity.
CRxVision is GE’s versatile, table-top computed radiography solution, designed specifically for weld inspection but suitable for a wide range of tasks in aerospace, power generation, and general NDT. It offers the benefits of computed radiography, and the wide dynamic range of its imaging plates significantly reduces the need for retakes.
The Technology Solutions Center also houses ultrasonic, eddy current, and remote visual inspection hardware for application consultation or rental. GE recently launched the Mentor series of connected inspection devices that lower the training hurdle with guided on-device inspection applications and wireless remote collaboration Tools.
