Ford X-rays show big efficiency benefits

摘要

Ford Motor Company's materials technology centre at Dunton, UK, is pioneering the use of X-Tek Systems' HMX ST real-time micro-focus X-ray inspection system for non-destructive testing of a wide range of components and materials. When the materials science department was refurbished and upgraded some four years ago, the decision was made to remove the open X-ray system, large lead-lined room and wet plate film-processing laboratory. Although X-ray inspection was an invaluable part of the department's research, especially for metal castings, Ford decided that rather than update the equipment, it would outsource X-ray inspection on an ad-hoc basis. Nevertheless the engineers at Dunton kept an eye open on developments in real-time X-ray inspection equipment. In early 2001 they approached X-Tek Systems, a big player in microfocus real-time X-ray imaging technology, and bought one of its largest, most powerful and most flexible cabinet systems, the HMX 225 ST, complete with computed tomography (CT) software.