Hello, my name is Coleman Flanagan
and I'm the product manager for Ultrasonic Portable Flaw Detectors
for Olympus NDT.
Today we are here to talk about the Epoch 600
and an optional software feature called Template Storage.
Template Storage allows the user to save a live A-scan
as a stored template or overlay to the instrument.
Once saved, the operator is easily able to activate
or de-activate this stored template
as an overlay on the live A-scan display.
This allows the operator to compare the live A-scan
to the stored template to look for resemblance's
to characteristic geometry or known flaw conditions within the test sample.
Template Storage has a wide variety of uses
but is commonly used for the ultrasonic inspection
of automotive spot welds.
Let's take a look at the way that Template Storage
can assist the inspection of spot welds.
The most classic example of ultrasonic spot weld inspection
in the automotive industry is evaluating weld nuggets
created by electrical resistance welding
for their ultrasonic characteristics.
These weld nuggets hold together at least
two sheets of metal in some component of the automobile.
During ultrasonic evaluation of a weld nugget,
the operator will couple a high frequency delay line transducer
to the welded area and allow the screen range
to view multiple back wall reflections through that weld nugget.
The operator then looks for characteristic patterns
of the ring down of the sound to evaluate the condition of the weld.
The Template Storage feature of the Epoch 600
allows the operator to store these known conditions of the weld
on the screen for live display.
This allows the operator to easily view comparisons
of the known representation to the live A-scan during evaluation.
Once the operator has stored a template into the instrument,
it is very easy to use the P keys to activate
or de-activate that template
and compare a live A-scan to known conditions.
In the good weld condition
the weld nugget has formed properly
and ultrasound is penetrating through both sheets of the material.
In the undersize condition
a weld nugget has formed that creates a proper bond
between the two sheets of material,
however the weld nugget diameter is not large enough
and sound gets trapped in the first sheet of material
on the outside of the weld nugget.
This creates intermediate echoes
between the properly spaced larger echoes
in the ring down pattern.
In the burnt condition
the welding process has been applied
too long on the sheets of material.
This causes the welded area to become brittle
and attenuation is much faster than in the good weld condition.
This can also cause thinning of the overall lay-up
of the two sheets of material.
With all of these weld conditions and potentially
more required to complete a full inspection,
you can see how Template Storage can be very useful for an operator.
While Template Storage lends itself very well
to automotive spot weld inspection,
it's usefulness can be applied to nearly all of ultrasonics.
For more information on the Epoch 600 and the Template Storage feature,
please visit our website at www.olympus-ims.com.