Micro Borescope Inspection Inside a Casting

Micro Borescopes that are 3.0 mm (0.12 in) and smaller in diameter can be used to inspect the interior of castings and machined parts. A micro or mini borescope can actually be as small as 0.35 mm (0.013 in). It is common that manufacturers will want to know the condition of interior channels and other hidden areas on these parts. They will want to inspect for burrs, excess material, blockages and chips or debris left from the machining process. A rigid micro borescope maybe used to inspect in areas where there is straight access available. When the inspection requires snake around corners, down channels and winding spaces a flexible micro borescope is needed. The ability to inspect the interior of castings and machined parts with flexible and rigid micro borescopes helps to improve to quality of manufacturing.

Pipe Inspection Camera

A long pipe inspection camera can be used to successfully inspect the condition of pipes on ships. Any large ship such as a cruise line, navel vessel or cargo transport has mile of internal piping. This piping is subject to harsh environments such as salt air and internal corrosion. If the pipe on a ship develop a problem the damage is magnified that much more due to the nature of being at sea.

Piping on Ships Can Be Inspected With Pipe Cameras

If a pipe develops a leak or a blockage the consequences could mean contaminated fuel or drinking water. Any spills are closely monitored and subject to heavy fines. Fortunately, inspectors can snake long pipe inspection cameras through the smallest diameter pipes on ships. The long pipe cameras can quickly determine the condition of the interior of the pipe. Blockages are easy to see ass well as corrosion, pitting and other defects. Most ships will under go a routine maintenance schedule that includes inspecting all gray water lines, fresh water lines and other ship board piping that may be of concern.

Videoscope Rental Equipment Inspects Industrial Plastics Press

A plastics bag manufacurer recently needed to shut down production on a massive plasitc press that made common house hold garbage bags. The press had developed a leak in a channel that forced the shut down. The only way to view the location and determine the exact source of the leak was with a videoscope that was rented for this specific purpose.

Click to View Videoscope Rental Equipment

The videoscope rental equipment arrived at the customers location the next morning and was used to snake down the channel to locate the exact location of the leak. The plastics manufacturer was able to capture images of the remote inspection done on the massive press with the videoscope rented for future reference. One time emergency inspections that require videoscopes to inspect remote locations make renting the logical choice. The customer is able to pick from a wide variety of videoscopes to best complete their inspection at a fraction of the cost of owning equipment.

Visit the NDT Source Book

Quality magazine’s NDT source book is an industry listing of  the best companies in the non destructive testing(NDT) field. Advanced Inspection Technologies can now be found on quality magazine’s NDT Source Book. The new listing is among excellent company in the Non Destructive Testing and Remote Visual Inspection community. The latest borescope, videoscope and fiberscope instruments are available for a wide variety of remote visual inspection applications.

Borescopes, Videoscopes and Fiberscopes are used by NDT engineers to visually inspect remote and difficult to access areas. Typical applications include inspecting castings, turbines, machinery, small tubing, pipe lines and other impossible to reach areas.

Borescope Inspection Services Are Available For Fossil Power Plants

Circulating water pumps deliver cooling water to equipment that condenses the steam coming from a turbine. This is an extremely important component for a fossil power plant that operates a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The internal workings of a circulating water pump needs to be operating at peak efficiency. It is possible for internal supports or baffles to break off and damage the impeller or reduce the efficiency of the pump.

These massive pumps can be remotely inspected with a videoscope to check for internal condition. A videoscope can be inserted through borescope plugs on the sides of the pump and snaked to remote internal locations to view the condition of internal components and check for broken or loose parts, bad welds and other deficiencies. An 8.0 mm diameter videoscope that is 3 to 5 meters in length works best for this inspection. A guide tube such as Dekoron is helpful to assist the flexible videoscope working length to the areas that need inspection. With proper videoscope equipment and a trained inspector this inspection procedure can be quickly accomplished. The Videoscope inspection results can be recorded and help engineers determine if there are any internal problems with the circulating water pump so they can ensure maximum efficiency.

The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR®) represents the future of translunar and interplanetary transportation as well as propulsion within Earth orbit. Its superb efficiency compared to that of a conventional chemical rocket allows double the payload mass for lunar delivery and half the transit time to Mars. Its robust design allows much greater power levels than existing electric propulsion systems and promises longer lifetimes.

Video of the AD Astra Plasma Rocket in Action

California Burrowing Owl

The Burrowing Owl, a California Species of Special Concern isn’t your average owl: it doesn’t live in trees, and it’s not nocturnal. It makes its nest underground — usually in abandoned rodent burrows — and is active both day and night. But human population explosion has reduced the charismatic western burrowing owl’s breeding populations by more than 60 percent, presumably in response to loss of habitat to urban development, ground squirrel control efforts, and intensive agriculture practices.

In California a pipe line is proposed to be constructed and would go through an area that is inhabited by the California burrowing owl. In order for the pipe line project to be built the owls that inhabit the area will need to be relocated. The owls can only be relocated if it is proven that they are not currently nesting with eggs waiting to hatch.

In order to determine the nesting situation of the owls it was determined that a borescope could be inserted into the nests and visually view the condition of the nest. If no eggs were detected using the borescope then the owls could be recollected and the pipe line project could continue. Advanced Inspection Technologies was asked to provide borescope rental equipment to inspect the nests. The borescope rental was a cost effective way to inspect the nests with the most advanced remote visual inspection equipment available.

Modern Flexible Video Borescope

Recently, Advanced inspection Technologies (AIT) was pleased to be involved with restoration work of the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, AL. AIT provided a flexible video borescope rental to inspect the interior plumbing of the memorial. Engineers rented the video borescope from AIT to snake through a pipe that normally delivers water to the memorial to conduct a remote visual inspection.

Engineers used the video borescope rental equipment to navigate and the length of the pipe and check the interior condition. The video borescope they rented from AIT to inspect the civil rights memorial was able to easily navigate the pipe line and help engineers determine that the interior condition was good. Without the assistance of AIT’s video borescope rentals there would of been no way to inspect the interior condition of the memorial without tear down of the structure.

Flexible Video Borescope Equipment Rented From AIT Inspects the Civil Rights Memorial

The Civil Rights Memorial honors the achievements and memory of those who lost their lives during the Civil Rights Movement, in the United States. Created by Vietnam Veterans Memorial designer Maya Lin. the striking black granite memorial is located across the street from the Southern Poverty Law Center’s office building in Montgomery, Alabama. The Memorial is just around the corner from the church where Dr. King served as pastor during the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-1956, and the capitol steps where the Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march ended in 1965.

The circular fountain provides a timeline of important events in the civil rights movement, beginning in 1954 with the Supreme Court decision to integrate American schools (Brown vs. the Board of Education) and ending with Dr. King’s murder in 1968. It also records the names of 40 men, women, and children who lost their lives working for social justice. A thin pool of water flows over this circular table.

Advanced Inspection Technologies (AIT) is a leader for rentals of videoscopes, video borescopes, pipe inspection cameras and infrared cameras. Throughout the years AIT’s borescope rental equipment has been used to solve a variety of inspection application. Arhcitectural and historic borescope inspections are always interesting to be involved in.

Motorized Jaws Retrieve Heavy Objects From Industrial Systems

It can happen… Even the smallest objects can cause large expenses for your facility. Foreign Object Search And Retrieval (FOSAR) tools, Loose Parts Retrieval Tools, Foreign Material Exclusion Retrieval Tools (FME) and Foreign Object Debris Retrieval Tools (FOD) will locate and remove foreign material from your system. A good Foreign Material Exclusion Program Will include tools to quickly and efficiently remove unwanted material from an industrial system.

Snare Retrieval Tool For Industrial Applications

Loose parts and foreign materials are a reality of nearly every plant outage and turnaround. A dropped wrench, bolt or other foreign object can be catastrophic to system integrity and plant safety. Industrial plants on the cutting edge of technology use foreign material search and retrieval to ensure a safe start up.

A Foreign Object Retrieval tool kit will consist of alligator jaws, snares, hooks, powerful magnets, and motorized grippers. Along with the tools, flexible fiberglass poles are employed as a deliver device. The poles allow engineers to remotely navigate pipes and other industrial systems as far as 200 feet (60 Meters) and grap onto any object and remove it. Typically a videoscope, video borescope or pipe inspection camera is used in conjunction with the retrieval tool kit. The videoscopes, borescopes and pipe cameras are used to inspect the industrial system to locate and assist in properly positioning the retrieval tools.

Remote Visual Inspection Equipment Used For Retrieval at Electrical Power Plant

Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant Recieves Late Night Help From AIT

Industrial Pipe Inspection Camera

Advanced Inspection Technologies (AIT) was contacted at 10:00 PM on a Friday night and asked if it was possible to have an industrial pipe inspection camera sent to the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant as soon as possible. AIT always places the customer first and understands the urgent needs of the industrial customers we cater to. It has happened in the past and it will continue to happen. Industrial plants will be in a planned or unplanned outage and need to inspect a critical system before returning the plant to operation. Frantic calls go out looking for video borescopes and pipe inspection cameras in the middle of the night. Most companies work on a 9 to 5 schedule and are not able to assist late in the night. AIT did answer the phone as part of their unique 24/7 service philosophy and provided the Crystal River plant with a pipe inspection camera by 2:30 AM. AIT is proud of their responsive customer service for industrial remote visual inspection applications.