Yateks video borescopes are used by an American manufacturer of space launch vehicles to visually inspect of a wide range of critical parts and components.
A common inspection requires the visual examination of FOD (foreign object debris) and orbital welds inside long stainless-steel tubing ranging from ¼” to 3” ID.
To inspect for FOD, a probe with a 0-degree direction of view (front view) is needed. The inspection of orbital welds requires a probe with a 90-degree direction of view (side view).
Thus, to inspect the tubing for both FOD and welds, the customer had to use one probe with two separate tips (one with front view and the other with side view). This resulted in a very inefficient inspection process where the technician had to continuously retract the scope entirely from the tubing to switch between the front view and side view tips. Welds were also difficult to locate and easy to miss in long tubing, particularly when using the side view tip.
InterTest recommended the Yateks P+ Dual View 2.8 mm Video Borescope to optimize the customer’s inspection process. The dual view scope has both the front and side views integrated on the distal tip so that both views are displayed simultaneously on screen. This allowed the customer to check for FOD and locate the welds using the front view, then verify the orbital weld using the side view – all in one probe without the need to switch between tips.
Image: A Yateks 2.8 mm Dual View Video Borescope inside of a ¼” inner diameter fuel manifold tubing. Left image shows the forward direction of view (DOV) targeting the orbital weld of interest. Right image shows the side DOV that targeting the weld seam. This shows an inconsistent weld bead that could be problematic.
This resulted in a highly efficient inspection where longer tubes could be fully inspected without having to continuously retract the scope outside the tubing to change tips. Likewise, welds were much easier to locate and verified quickly with the scope’s dual view capability.
Image: The 2.8 mm OD video borescope being inserted into the ¼” fuel manifold tubing.
In sum, the customer concluded that the Yateks P+ Dual View Video Borescope increased both the efficiency and accuracy of their tube inspection process.
Read the original Article from Yateks here.