Phoenix Inspection Systems Ltd have recently completed a custom-design project for an Automated Axle Bore (AAB) Scanner for conventional UT inspection, with pulse echo probes, of bores from Ø30mm up to Ø142mm with an axial stroke of 3000mm into the bore.
Two motorised axes permit axial and circumferential motion through the bore by raster scan patterns and helical scanning is available with the use of a slip ring.
The Automated Axle Bore scanner operates at speeds up to 60° per second in circumferential direction and 100mm per second in the axial direction.
Designed with interchangeable probe heads contoured for specific bores one scanner can inspect bores of various sizes by changing the probe head to the appropriate diameter. Available in automated and manual configurations, both versions can inspect bores of any length by attaching lances to give the required stroke length.
The probe lance heads contain two single crystal ultrasonic shear wave transducers orientated forwards and backward in the axial direction and a zero-degree compression probe contoured to suit the bore diameter (probe head diameters determine the number of probes that can be incorporated). The transducers are spring-loaded onto the bore surface and with gimballing that allows the probes to take up any variation on the inner surface.
Originally designed for the rail industry for the inspection of train axle bores, the AAB scanner can be adapted for most bore inspection requirements. The system is portable and easy to set up so enables onsite inspection by a single operator.