In the field of NDT, industrial ultrasonic testing (UT) is a long-established method. However, new materials and components are finding their way into the industry, requiring continuous technological advances. With stricter regulations, workforce shortages, and rising inspection needs worldwide, the urgency for smarter, more efficient inspection methods is critical.

Offering a major advantage over conventional ultrasonic testing, PAUT provides 2D image representations of flaws in a weld as opposed to a mere A-scan signal that could be challenging to interpret.

Ultrasonic fatigue testing is importance for materials intended for high endurance, high reliability applications.

While PAUT is becoming a popular approach for nondestructive inspections, it is important that users understand this technology, its limitations and how it should be applied.

Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics announced it has leased a 21,000 sq ft high bay facility in Falconer, NY.

While COVID dampened demand early on, the skills gap and labor shortage that has plagued the industry for more than a decade is still in full swing. As new NDT methods advance, quality professionals require new training, and technicians transitioning from film techniques to non-film techniques need hands-on experience.

Manual or human manipulated NDT is still the primary means of performing Nondestructive Testing (NDT) in unique or one-off applications. Mechanical aids and/or computer assisted manipulation and scanning devices can reduce data gathering time on the site of the item being inspected.

Nondestructive testing of large components can be time consuming and requires several people to work quickly to minimize the impact of testing on the large component manufacturing process.

Friction stir weld (FSW) inspections in aerospace manufacturing are challenging for ultrasound technicians not necessarily because they require specialized computations or complex techniques but because scanning with conventional probe setups can be so time consuming.

As nondestructive examination (NDE) continues to evolve as an inspection discipline, so the technologies of NDE evolve to meet new challenges in terms of materials and material geometries to be inspected.