The leading manufactures of high quality seamless rolled rings use P-scan System 4 as an element integrated in advanced production control systems.

Five years ago contact to the Italian company FORGITAL Italy S.P.A. was established and the advantages of automated ultrasonic inspection for production control were demonstrated on their production line.

The FORGITAL® group manufacture and supply seamless rolled rings for use in the industry worldwide. The rings are made of steel, aluminium, titanium and various alloys and are manufactured as rectangular cross-section rings or contour rolled rings.

The FORGITAL® group provide a great range of rings with weights between 10 kg and 40 ton and diameters up to 8 meters. Application of these rings range from mining installations to very demanding aerospace applications, where a zero failure rate is required.

These products have previously been inspected by manual ultrasonic methods for homogeneity and defects. However, a need for automated inspection and detailed quality documentation was recognized.

The first solution

The first solution to automated ultrasonic inspection was implemented at FORGITAL Italy S.P.A four months after the first demonstration. For this solution FORCE Technology delivered probe rails for moving the probes and P-scan 4 for data acquisition, analysis and presentation. During the inspection phase probe rails were mounted temporarily on the lathe machine in place of the machine cutting tools.

The second solution

FORGITAL has a long and strong tradition for continuous improvement of processes and control technologies and as a consequence a second solution was implemented in 2001. This solution used a new machine dedicated to rotate rings up to 3-metre diameter during ultrasonic inspection. The second solution used a flexible permanent set-up of probe rails.

The automated ultrasonic P-scan inspection of the ring is typically done prior to the final machinery operations. The rectangular cross-section rings are inspected while the ring is placed vertically in the test stand and rotated.

The ultrasonic probes are mounted on the probe rail and moved on the face and outside surface of the ring. After each completed revolution the probes are automatically indexed one step until the ring is completely inspected. The P-scan 4 can inspect two surfaces simultaneously with up to 8 probes. The ultrasonic data are analyzed with the P-scan 4 software and all data are saved in the company’s quality documentation system.

The third solution

The company Forges Maurice Dembiermont in France has become a member of the FORGITAL® group. An inspection system similar to the one used by FORGITAL Italy were delivered in 2004. The system is designed to scan rings up to 8 meters in diameter.

The probe arrangement delivered by FORCE Technology consists of probe rails and probe holders mounted with pneumatic springs, so they can automatically adjust to the curvature of the rings. The data acquisition system is the P-scan 4 Flex with 8 channels. Two surfaces can be scanned simultaneously. The P-scan 4 Flex was selected, because it can be expanded with eddy current inspection capability.

Thus Dembiermont has reserved the potential for further improvements in efficiency and quality documentation by combining ultrasound inspection with simultaneous eddy current inspection.