Automotive

Non-destructive testing of welds is possible with Laser-Ultrasound. Thanks to the good automation capacity also inline measurements at high speed can be carried out, depending on the required resolution. With a repetition rate of 10 Hz, 100 Hz or even higher, flaws, inclusions, hot cracks and pore concentrations can be found. 

By means of Laser-Ultrasound also spot welds can be scanned in a short time and zones of actual material connection (weld nugget) can be imaged and evaluated.

Metallic components are often coated dielectrically in order to optimize the operating characteristics (such as tribology).
With Terahertz technology (THz) such coatings can be measured efficiently inline.

In recent years the rapid development and quality improvements in the field of 3D printing for plastic and metal components has enabled many applications, including the serial production of critical components. Using the OCT inspection technique (for plastics, ceramics) and Laser-Ultrasonics (for metals, hard plastics) allow the detection of certain defects offline or even inline and thus enable to monitor the process closely in order to set corrective actions if needed.

The OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) provides insight into nearly all common polymer materials used in the industrial environment. As a tomographic measurement technique, OCT delivers information about the internal structure in order to detect and characterise cracks, defects, inclusions, pores, etc. OCT not only controls the quality and functionality of the plastic products, but also delivers relevant information to help understand and optimize the manufacturing process.

With the Terahertz technology (THz) it is possible to look through relatively thick plastic layers and test hidden layers non-destructively (e.g. adhesive layers). The terahertz waves used are not harmful for health (no ionizing radiation), but still make it possible to look inside many optically non-transparent materials.

In the mainly manual production process of CFRP components delamination, inclusions and inner cracks represent critical problems for the mechanical strength. These errors are not visible from the outside because of the black coloring of the material. Using Laser-Ultrasound components can be scanned non-destructively and imperfections can be detected.

The homogeneity of adhesive layers, which is not visible or accessible after the joining process of the components, should often be tested. The modern technique of Photoacoustic Imaging provides a solution in such cases. For example you can see here (b) errors in the adhesive layer between (a) a non-transparent plastic component and a metal component – and (c) the adhesive surface in a PAI-Scan.

Using process-integrated techniques from the NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) technologies portfolio means that errors can be identified at an early stage – saving time, energy, and cost.
With direct control of your processes, you can always operate them optimally without compromise. This results in a reduction of energy input, materials consumption, and process time. Through 100% quality control, only certified zero-defect products are delivered to the customers.
Dare to go to the limits within product and process design – through integrated process analytics and 100% quality control you save time and money, and it’s hassle-free. We can support you in these matters!

In lacquer coating layers (or similar coatings), embedded particles (of different materials) are very important for the functionalization of the coating or for e.g. a perfect automotive-metallic-coating.
With the low-cost OCT method we are able to monitor and characterize the partial embedding, which helps to secure and optimize the production process.

The determination of the hardness penetration depth in thermally hardened components is essential for quality control. State-of-the-art is to cut samples and do etching and hardness measurements. Laser-Ultrasonics opens a non-destructive alternative. Thereby, zones of different microstructures at arbitrary positions can be imaged up to a tomographic representation of the hardness penetration depth.

By offering the possibility to investigate glowing samples, Laser-Ultrasound also enables the determination of in-situ metallurgical information during thermo-mechanical cycles of new steel grades. Therefor, samples can be inductively heated and deformed in our modified quenching and deformation dilatometer (by Linseis Messgeraete). From the measured parameters, like speed of sound and acoustic damping, it is possible to conclude on grain growth, phase transitions and texture changes with appropriate calibration.