The Use of Industrial Robots for NDT Applications

An efficient use of articulated robotic arms for NDT is still a work in progress.

Nondestructive testing is the preferred quality control technique for many manufacturers from different domains ranging from industrial to aerospace. With automated NDT, we use scanners and robots to increase the speed and repeatability factor of NDT techniques, creating much more efficiently produced precision measurements. However, obvious automated NDT scanner requirements are needed to achieve high quality control and precision measurements.
This article provides a basic comparison between typical Cartesian scanners using a combination of linear axes (X, Y and Z axes) and rotational axes, and articulated robotic arm systems using six polar axes, often used for handling machine tools, welding and part movement.

This article was published in the Quality Magazine September 2016 [read more…]