Weld Inspection and Testing

A precise, strong laser or electron beam weld is only as good as the quality control system involved and the final inspection and testing of the part. Our process ensures an EB Industries welded component is up to and beyond standards and won’t fail in the field.

Inspection and Testing of Electron Beam and Laser Welds

EB Industries performs all weld inspection in-house utilizing the latest inspection technology operated by AWS certified weld inspectors. This is an essential final step in the making of a part.

We also perform most Non-Destructive and Destructive testing in-house. We have a full sectioning lab as well as a full range of NDT equipment.

Testing and inspection at EB Industries are not a final step or an after-thought: they have been incorporated into our manufacturing process. Inspection areas are an integral part of all our electron beam and laser welding stations, and generally, a trained operator and a trained inspector work as a team on all welding projects. This allows for continuous monitoring of quality with no impairment of production speed.

Testing is continuous as well. Parts and raw materials are tested as they come in-house, at required points during manufacturing, and then extensively before parts are packed and shipped.

Testing Facilities

  • Keyence VHX-900F digital microscope
  • Kestrel digital measurement microscope with labeling system, calibrated
  • Nikon SMZ-1 inspection microscope
  • Nikon SMZ-745T inspection microscope with digital camera
  • Nikon SMZ-800 inspection microscope
  • Bausch & Lomb Stereo Zoom 5 microscope
  • Three Veeco/VIC Helium mass spectrometer leak detectors, 6×10-11 atm-cc/sec sensitivity, calibrated. Small, large bell jars and chambers. Custom vacuum leak systems and fixtures can be built to job requirements including: large or odd shaped chambers, automated and multi station systems.
  • Pressure bombing chambers available.

Nondestructive testing including: dye penetrant testing, radiographic, ultrasonic and physical testing are available.

Inspection and Testing Standards for Electron Beam and Laser Welds

A weld certifying system can only be as good as the standards of the system, and the training of the personnel involved. Our certifications are the gold standard of our industry, and in addition to meeting ISO, MIL and AWS standards, we are on certified suppliers lists for over 117 OEM, Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies.

Certifications

Compliance to

Testing and Inspection is covered under any number of standards, but in general, the process is controlled by AWS QC1 and AWS D17.1. D17.1 is particularly significant because it not only controls the standards of inspection and testing, but the fitness of inspectors as well, requires vision tests, inspector training and certification, etc.

Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) is controlled by AWS D17.1, AWS 2680 and AWS 2681. This pertains to Radiographic Testing, Ultrasonic Testing, Penetrant Testing, and Magnetic Particle Testing.

Leak testing and pressure bomb testing is typically certified to MIL-STD-883H. We can also certify to ASTM-E493, E498 or E499.

Destructive testing is typically controlled by AWS D17.1, AWS 2680 and AWS 2681.

We, of course, will test and inspect to meet any proprietary standard as required by the customer.

Our full quality control and inspection system is in compliance with MIL-I-45208A.

Our metrology program in accordance with MIL-C-45662A standards.

Weld Inspection and Testing Process

Weld inspection of laser and electron beam welded parts generally follows three distinct paths: visual inspection; destructive testing; and non-destructive testing (NDT).

Visual Inspection involves looking at a weld with the naked eye and/or with some level of magnification. Typically, our inspectors are checking for cracks, pits, surface pores, undercut, underfill, missed joints, and other aspects of the weld.

Visual inspection is limited to the surface area of the weld that is visible to the inspector, which means something like depth of penetration cannot be determined unless the weld is a full penetration weld and you can view it from inside the assembly. Hence, destructive testing is often required to further examine the quality of the weld.

Destructive Testing involves physically cutting and sectioning the part to determine the internal characteristics of the weld. Typically, either a production part is cut or a representative sample is made that embodies the exact characteristics of the joint. Destructive samples are usually taken at the beginning of the job to make sure the weld parameters are correct for the lot. Samples can also be taken at intervals during the production process or at the end of the run.

Destructive testing samples are precisely cut, machined, ground, and polished to a mirror-like finish. An acid etch is then applied to visually bring out the weld, and the sample is then inspected under a microscope. This inspection can determine depth of penetration, width of weld, as well as reveal cracks, pores, and other anomalies inside the weld bead.

Non-Destructive Testing as the name implies, does not destroy the part, so theoretically every part could be examined in this manner, and this is usually the case if NDT is required by the specification.

NDT generally consists of dye penetrant inspection and/or x-ray inspection.

In dye penetrant inspection, a special dye is applied to the part to identify cracks and other surface anomalies. This method is limited and can only identify problems on the surface of the weld.

An X-ray inspection results in the most comprehensive view of what is going on inside the weld. Porosity in particular can be clearly seen in an x-rayed part.

Every assembly has different requirements, and it’s important to understand the nuances of each type of inspection to develop an inspection regimen that will consistently lead to high quality parts within the bounds of the requirement. For example, a low risk of failure part may simply need visual inspection, while a part destined for space – where failure could be catastrophic – demands a much higher level of inspection.

Microscope Technology: Stereoscopic or Better

Quality microscopes are at the heart of any inspection. While some weld issues can be seen with the naked eye, the majority requires magnification to see. Our shop is laid out with dozens of stereoscopic microscopes located in key areas that allow strategic inspection of parts as they’re processed. Typically, every EB welding and laser welding station is equipped with microscopes adjacent to the welder.

Stereoscopic microscopes not only magnify but also render depth. The ability to view parts with depth — seeing the weld bead three dimensionally — can make a big difference in determining and diagnosing weld issues: what might appear as a surface scratch in 2D could actually be a crack when viewed in 3D, as an example.

All inspection scopes at EB Industries have a minimum magnification of 20x , even though most specifications only require 10x, because we’ve found higher levels of magnification result in better inspections and consistently better parts – you can’t find a problem if you can’t see a problem.

Digital Microscopy

Digital microscopes are a world beyond traditional stereoscopic microscopes and allow our inspectors to better examine parts, take detailed pictures and measurements and provide our customers with timely, detailed documentation.

Our Keyence VHX-900F Microscope takes inspection into an incredible level of detail and precision. In addition to all the basics one expects from a digital microscope — high magnification, auto lighting, auto focus, photography, dimensional annotation on the photo, and the ability to import images into an inspection report, the Keyence also has autofocus stitching and adaptive lighting. These features make the Keyence a game changer.

Autofocus and Image Stitching

At high levels of magnification a microscope has a very limited focal plane, which makes it difficult to see the entire weld in continuous focus. The Keyence autofocuses across the various focal planes, shooting a series of high resolution digital snapshots that are then stitched together at pixel level into a composite 3D image of the part or the weld. The final composited image can be digitally rotated, enlarged, sectioned and otherwise thoroughly manipulated and examined across 3 axis. Additionally, as the Keyence focuses across the various planes of the workpiece, it stores depth information that is precisely correlated to points on the image. The result is that not only can our inspectors find microscopic anomalies on a weld or part, they can accurately measure those anomalies down to microns. Is it a scratch or a crack? The Keyence allows us to answer that question with a number.

Adaptive Lighting

Often a weld sample, especially one sectioned for destructive testing, is highly machined and reflective, resulting in glare, which washes out details and complicates the inspection. Further, the visibility of surface textures is highly dependent on the angle of incidence of the light illuminating the part or weld. The Keyence solves these issues with a very effective glare reduction algorithm and precise control of light direction in terms of intensity, direction and color temperature. The weld inspector can adjust the lighting as the part is initially fixtured for the inspection, and, amazingly, the lighting can be further adjusted AFTER the digital image is captured. So, not only can the image be moved and rotated, the angle, intensity and color of the light can be fully controlled after the fact to further reveal details and textures. The result is the most comprehensive inspection of precision welded parts in the industry.

This new system provides such high quality magnified images of our welds, I don’t know if we can ever go back to the old way of viewing welds. The system easily provides views and data about the most minute details of a weld, which ultimately helps us identify and avoid potential problems later in production.

– Ray Bzibziak, engineer Cobham Mission Systems in Orchard Park NY

Sectioning Lab

EB Industries is unique in that we have a fully equipped sectioning lab on-site, in close proximity to our shop, operators and inspectors. Hence, our inspection process is tightly integrated into our manufacturing process.

Our sectioning lab has an array of different equipment in order to make high quality cross sections in an efficient manner, including molds, potting compounds, saws, grinders, wet sanding disks, and polishing wheels. The lab also contains a full complement of acids and chemicals appropriate to etching a wide range of specific materials. Regardless of the metallurgy involved, we can treat any part such that details, such as the heat affected zone, clearly stand out for inspection and analysis.

The capability to create high quality cross sections in-house provides many benefits to our customers in terms of quality, processing speed and cost effectiveness. During weld development we can perform inspections synchronously with weld development iterations, which speeds up the refining of the part and the weld. During production runs we can monitor parts according to whatever schedule is specified without compromising the efficiency of the production run.