Innovative Test Systems, Inc.
Ultrasonic Immersion Tanks
17 FOOT LONG IMMERSION TANK
This latest edition to Innovative Test Systems Immersion Tanks has some new features which expand on our previous Large Immersion Tank Scanner. The first is repeatability which is at +/- .001” on all axes.
All wetted parts are either stainless steel or plastic. No other metals are present in the tank, manipulators or water heating/filtration system. This is to prevent any galvanic action what so ever.
The tank is capable of supporting a 25,000 pound part.
In addition to 3 motorized axes, there are three manually operated rotation axes to give the system the capability to position the transducer in any position. The rotation axes are made so that they can be motorized in the future.
This system uses an ultrasonic data system from a major system manufacturer. We can use any manufacturers data system.
Solid Bar Scanner Immersion Tank
Two identical Immersion systems were recently installed for a steel bar
manufacturer, one each in a different facility in the U.S.
The bridge and rail/drive system is the same system used on some of I.T.S.'s
other tanks. The test article is a solid round steel bar ranging in diameter
from 1" to 5" and in length up to 3 feet. A table with rotator drive
and encoder/endstop can be raised and lowered into and out of the tank. This
table can handle bars weighing up to 225 pounds
The data system consists of a Krautkramer USIP 20HR High Resolution Ultrasonic Instrument used together with Krautkramer's Ultramap software running on a Pentium PC under Windows.
The figure above shows the system with the table raised in the loading/unloading position. The image on the screen is a B-scan of one of the step areas on the end of the 2 inch diameter test bar shown on the rotators. An optional conveyor (soon to be mounted on tank side that is facing the chair) allows loading the heavy bars without impacting the tank and then rolling them laterally across the slat rails onto the rollers.
The image below shows the second system at other location. Both systems were constructed together. Here, the part table with test article has been lowered into the tank. Here you can see the separate drive motor and encoder/end stop. This setup gives a direct encoder reading off the test article avoiding errors due to diameter tolerances and drive roller slippage. The image in this photo is a C-scan of three flat bottomed calibration holes ranging in diameter from .025" down to .015" and 3/16" deep located in the full round portion of the test article.
Scan plans are entered and saved through the Ultramap software. Control
can be via the keyboard, the mouse, or the knobs on the ends of the motors. All
wetted parts either stainless steel, hard coated aluminum, or plastics.
Immersion Tank Scanner-
Solids of Revolution
The Innovative Test Systems Immersion Tank is designed to be flexible in adapting to a variety of bodies of revolution or other shapes. It can be used as a research tool or production scanning. The system consists of 4 main components. The tank, the arm with changeable grippers, the 4-axis gantry style programmable transducer holder, and the data/control system with programmable transducer gates and gain.
The tank consists of a stainless steel enclosure with self contained pump and filter and heating system for continuous cleaning of the water and control of temperature to insure accurate and repeatable testing.
The arm can be rotated up out of the tank for loading and then lowered by an air cylinder into the tank. This allows for easy part attachment. The parts can be loaded by hand or with optional pick-and-place robots. The top of the arm is designed to accept a variety of grippers depending on the part to be inspected. The arm is powerful enough to handle parts to 150 pounds or greater if specified. ( The photo shows a 5 inch Navy artillery projectile weighing approx. 90 pounds)
The gripper end of the arm is also powered for rotation by a motor located outside the tank. This motor can provide continuous rotation for inspection of bodies of revolution or be used to position a part for scanning from different angles.
The gantry style transducer holder consists of 4 axis. X, Y, and Z motion as well as rotation in the horizontal plane. A second "effective" rotational axis can be obtained by raising of lowering the transducer relative to the body of revolution's centerline. All axes are mounted on linear slides with anti-lash ball screw or AGMA 10 or better gear drives. All motors are stepping motors with encoder feedback for precise control of position.
The control/data system allows control of both the transducer position and
transducer ultrasonic parameters. The gate parameters of width and position as
well as the receiver gain can all be adjusted on each pulse of the transducer.
This allows for the scanning of complex shapes. A standard PC controlling
off-the-shelf ultrasonics insures reliable operation. Part programs can be
entered by direct manipulation of the transducer from the operator console or
by entering preprogrammed coordinates obtained from CADD or other sources. Scan
programs can be easily saved and recalled.
Research Immersion Tank
This small tank was built for internal research and development (shown here set up on an automotive airbag canister). It is used to help develop test procedures and to determine beforehand if a particular customer's part can be inspected in an immersion system and how it might be done. From there, a specific proposal can be tailored exactly to the customer's needs. This insures that the delivered system will perform as desired and that the customer will not be paying for more than he needs. During the early stages of a proposal, the tank can also be brought to the customer's facility to demonstrate the ability to inspect their part.
Send us an example of your parts and we can show you how to add inexpensive
inspection, whether in a R&D environment or full production setting.
Large Immersion Tank Scanner
Innovative Test Systems recently installed this Large Immersion Tank Scanner . The system is modular in design, consisting of the scanner, the tank, and the part handling system. The tank is designed with a floor capable of handling up to 25,000 pound distributed loads. An array of threaded studs provides attachment for different part handling systems. The tank shown is 214"L x 56"W x 38"D.
The Ultrasonics consist of a variety of off-the-shelf single channel instruments from the major ultrasonic instrument manufacturers as well as their software.
Control is through a hand held pendant with keypad and LCD alpha-numeric display offering both manual control and a teach mode with linear interpolation between a series of points.
The system is shown with an optional instrument tray that moves independently of the bridge. This allows the UT instrument to be positioned anywhere along the length of the bridge for easy setup and calibration and then have access to the instrument controls when scanning.
The two views above show the vertical tube detent assembly in the test and
break-away positions. When detent breaks open, a limit switch also shuts down
the system, preventing damage to transducer. Vertical tube can break away in
both directions (scan direction).
Above left is a photo of the water system. It consists of a 2 HP pump, 12 element filter, and 10,000 watt heater. The pump skid is spaced back to allow access to the complete perimeter of tank to aid in guiding the loading of 15,000+ pound parts.
Above right is a photo of the operator's instrument cart. It allows the instrument, in this case a Krautkramer USD 15 S, to be positioned anywhere along the length of the machine for ease of operation and calibration. The pendant with 4 line LCD display is used to manually operate machine during calibration and to teach the machine the profile of the part being scanned. The system also recalls ultrasonic settings stored in the USD 15 S for different segments of scan depending on part geometry.
All parts are made of either hard coat aluminum, stainless steel, or nickel plated steel. The bearings are a non-metallic type designed to run underwater without any lubrication required. Use your browser's VIEW command to see a larger image.