While eddy current technology has long been used in the testingof bar, tube, and wire stock, advances in electronics, automation,and coil design have paved the way for a new generation of testersspecifically designed for component testing applications. Thisincludes the testing of gears and bearings which go into automotiveand industrial applications. These testing systems easily integrateinto production processes allowing for in-line testing atproduction line speeds. In addition to enabling 100%of productioncomponents to be inspected, it can help monitor upstream processesnotifying operators that something is not functioning correctly.This greatly reduces scrap and warranty costs for gear and bearingmanufacturers.
Eddy current crack testing is performed by passing a small pairof coil windings over a section of the component to be tested.These coil windings are small enough to test between gear teeth,and with multi-coil probes can test very complex shapes. Most cracktest applications require only one test frequency sincemost testsrequire the detection of only surface flaws. Simultaneous testingwith multiple frequencies allows for testing of both surface andsub-surface defects when inspecting non-ferromagnetic parts.
While not an absolute hardness test like a Rockwell test, eddycurrent heat treat verification can achieve sorting results on parwith Rockwell testing. This has been demonstrated with both forgedand powder metal gears. Eddy current heat treat inspection coilscome in both standard encircling coil configurations and multi-coilcustom configurations. The custom configurations allow for preciselocation testing verifying that induction heating parameters werecorrectly applied. Defects to be tested include misplaced case,shallow case, short quench, delayed quench, air cooled,non-heat-treat, and ground out conditions. When performingheat-treat inspection,multiple test frequencies are used toreliably detect these various heat-treat anomalies.
Eddy current testing offers fast, repeatable testing of gearsand bearings. Testing data on each component can be storedelectronically and re-analyzed off-line at a later date. Eddycurrent test instruments are designed to integratewith PLC
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