Industrial CT Scanning Deliverables

Industrial computed tomography or industrial CT scanning utilizes X-ray images taken from different angles to create a virtual, dimensionally-accurate 3D model of the object being scanned. Industrial CT scanning can reveal defects in hidden product parts. Manufacturers use the technology to check the structural integrity of parts, analyze density variations, perform dimensional and failure analysis, and reverse engineer parts.

Industrial CT scanning allows you to inspect parts without creating a cross-section, helping prevent damage to them. It can help reduce product development time and inspection costs and improve product quality.

Industrial CT scanners are costly. If you decide to manage your project yourself, you must invest in expensive CT scanning equipment and train your employees. Instead of trying to do everything yourself, outsource your project to an industrial CT scanning services provider. Before you hire a provider, discuss these industrial CT scanning deliverables with them.

Porosity Analysis

3D CT scanning allows inspection teams to perform a porosity analysis without physically disturbing the object. Material density differences can be analyzed to find pores, voids, and fiber delamination in materials. Color-coded images generated at the end of the process can be used to quantify the results by cross-sectional area, porosity, percent volume, and volume. Design engineers can then characterize the void spaces.

Wall Thickness Analysis

A wall thickness analysis is conducted to determine if the 3D model has sufficient wall thickness required for printing. It involves splitting up the model into a series of voxels. The person performing the analysis then determines if there are enough voxels to comply with the recommended wall thickness of each material. Wall thickness analysis is often carried out to analyze the wall thickness of blow molded products as their wall thickness distribution affects production cost and structural integrity of their parts.

STL

The STL file format is the most widely used file format for 3D printing. It encodes the surface geometry of objects using a simple method called tessellation. An STL file stores information related to the geometry of the 3D model without specifying the color and texture of the material. An STL file either uses ASCII coding or binary coding to store information. Both ASCII and binary coding save the coordinates of the vertices and the components of the unit normal vector to the triangle.

Color Mapping

Color mapping generates qualitative illustrations that can be analyzed to identify the difference between the specifications of a scanned object and its nominal design. Every color on a color map represents a different degree of variation; industrial CT scanning can be used to capture non line of sight.

Scan Evaluation

To evaluate the quality of 3D models, industrial CT scanning services analyze differences in areas of overlap. They take a thin slice of data from a single setup that relates to a hard surface and construct a best-fit line to get a good idea of raw distance error. This can be done over a range of distances to detect scale error.

Process Optimization

3D scanning can help optimize your prototyping process by reducing the number of iterations required to be produced during the production and prototyping phase. Industrial 3D scanning services use 3D models of manufactured parts and optimized workflows to perform inspections swiftly and accurately.

 Nel Pre Tech specializes in industrial CT scanning services. We are equipped to manage small-scale as well as complex, multifaceted large-scale projects. To talk to a 3D scanning expert, call 708-429-4887.