As part of Emerson Automation Solutions, AVENTICS is one of the world’s leading brands in pneumatic components and systems. The group provides products and services for industrial automation as well as other industrial fields
X-ray computed tomography at Aventics
X-ray computed tomography has been used for many years by Aventics for the inspection of injected parts and complex assemblies. Aventics first discovered this innovative technology thanks to RX Solutions’ services department, especially for checking assemblies and looking for defects in their parts (porosities, inclusions). Thanks to x-ray computed tomography, complex assemblies can easily be checked without disassembling or destroying the part. The company integrated a CT system from RX Solutions into their R&D department to reduce the required time for warpage and shrinkage compensation in injection molding.
The RX Solutions tomography system is used on a daily basis for inspection and expertise: R&D, First article inspection, CAD comparisons, etc. The CT system is also used in production support, for the inspection of components after assembly to check the integrity and correct positioning of the different components.
“At first we were looking for a solution to improve our expert analysis level and validate R&D calculation and simulations. The parts we manufacture are mainly complex assemblies hence tolerances stack-up is very important especially when several parts need to be taken into account. Thanks to x-ray computed tomography, it’s easier to validate stack-up tolerance on real parts and visualize seals or spring in real conditions, without having to disassemble and take the risk to lose precious information. The other reason was to save time for new product development.
With x-ray computed tomography, we are able, in less than 2 hours, to validate a complete stack-up on a real part under pressure whereas without X-Ray it would take at least 1 day with dimensional measurement of each part in tolerance stack-up and calculation with the risk of error.”
Nicolas VIDAL
Head of Pneumatic Laboratory
Installed in the measurement laboratory, the start-up of the RX Solutions tomograph is fast and intuitive.
Plastic components, for every industrial field
The use of components made from plastic materials has increased in almost every type of product development – from consumer electronics and vehicles to aerospace interiors and medical devices. There are multiple reasons why this trend, which began decades ago, should continue. Plastic components are generally less expensive to produce and lighter in weight. In short, plastics are best suited to meet the needs of increasing numbers of today’s manufacturers for product growth.
Plastic injection molding manufacturing process is used to design and produce high volumes of the same part. Obtaining the perfect geometry of a plastic part is a complex process. Thus, there are several optimization steps for the material such as the mold itself and the injection settings.
As stated above, injection molding can be a complex process whereas shrinkage compensation and warpage remain an omnipresent topic. Even if the molds are strictly made according to the drawings, the parts produced are usually not true to size. The main defects (shrinkage, warpage and porosities) mainly come from inhomogeneous cooling due to the volume distribution and the filling process. Traditional measurements methods to compensate for these defects are often time and cost consuming.
This is where computed tomography comes into its own, allowing the first molded parts to be checked out non-destructively. X-ray computed tomography is the perfect technology to assess in a few minutes a plastic part, on structural and dimensional aspects. CT scanning quickly provides the ability to overlap actual scan data with that of the original CAD model, or the golden sample showing user-defined criteria, comparing actual values to nominal values and displaying out of tolerances values in easy-to-see colors.
Learn More?
Please click on ‘Request Application Note’ and download the full application note ‘Injection Molding – AVENTICS Pneumatic Solutions’.