Plumstead Quality and Nondestructive Examination Services

PQNDE Services offers professional Nondestructive Examination auditing, consulting and training services in Jacksonville, Florida as well as other major cities. Personnel training may also be provided at customers facility upon request. Mention Training Classes.com and you will receive a 10% discount off our already low course fees. Get qualified to determine the quality of an object without affecting it's usefulness by methods such as x-ray and ultrasonic examination. Just as in the medical industry doctors use these methods to look inside the human body for damage like broken bones. NDE technicians are in high demand to examine parts that go into aircraft or piping in a power plants and the list goes on. Visit pqnde web site and look for links such as Definition of NDE, History of NDE, Advantages of NDE and Role of NDE in Manufacturing. We have a brand new powerpoint presentation "Introduction to NDE" now available on-line.

NDE is an essential element in the quality control of manufactured goods. Without effective means of NDE, it would be very difficult to construct many of the major high integrity structures that are successfully built today. The quality industry is by far, better understood and much more respected than it was 20 years ago.

Quality Control (QC) is a basic concept in manufacturing. Metallurgists, inspectors, operators and production personnel know the problems of keeping any manufacturing process precisely controlled. The product being manufactured or fabricated must be controlled. When any element of a manufacturing operation gets out of control, quality drops and waste may be produced. Any NDE method applied in one way or other to control processes creates profit for the manufacturer. A non-destructive examination can reduce manufacturing costs when it locates undesirable characteristics of a material or component at an early stage, thus saving the money that would be spent in additional processing, assembly or scrapping of material. For example the examination of forging blanks before the forging operation, might detect the presence of seams, large inclusions or cracks in the blanks that could result in a seriously defective product. Using such a blank would be costly due to all the labor and forge time involved in working the defective material into the product. The profits gained by performing NDE on these blanks prior to and during working would not go un-noticed.

In general, the quality of manufactured goods is determined by measuring dimensions, material properties or other characteristics of a component, comparison of the measurements to established standards and modifying the manufacturing process accordingly to control these characteristics. This is possible with either destructive or non-destructive methods. Often, direct measurements can be accomplished only by destroying the parts. The commercial impact of this is twofold - costs were incurred to make the product, yet no profit can be made from the destruction of a product. However, the same information may be obtained without destroying the part, this may only be by an indirect measurement, then the part can be sold for a profit after it has been tested. The commercial incentive to test indirectly by nondestructive methods is large when small quantities and large profit margins are involved, and are crucial with one-of-a-kind products.

In most cases, the objectives of NDE techniques during manufacture fall into one of three categories:

1. Measurement of physical/mechanical properties of materials or manufactured geometry

2. Information on flaws/discontinuities in the materials

3. Information about the condition of material which may have deteriorated or changed with time.

The Level of quality to be achieved and determined by using NDE methods is very important in a manufacturing process. In a competitive marketplace, the quality of a product directly affects its success and may also have far-reaching consequences. If the quality is poor it can ruin sales and reputation. On the other hand, unreasonable quality expectations can swallow up profits through excessive production and scrap losses. Therefore, the major function of nondestructive evaluation is to control and maintain a given quality level for a particular product and circumstances.

Design, manufacture and associated NDE must not only consider the end use of a product, but also the level of difficulty associated and cost of maintenance and repair.

A well designed and thoroughly inspected product, in theory, starts life in a sound and reliable condition. Through the proper inspection of components, the need for in-service inspection, depending upon circumstances, may be reduced or eliminated.

In considering this aspect, NDE became an essential aspect for quality assurance in many areas of manufacturing. NDE is also a necessary means of meeting certain legal and contractual requirements affecting construction as well as the production and sale of a wide variety of manufactured products.

Nondestructive evaluation methods are used by manufacturers for numerous reasons including:

To ensure product reliability

To prevent accidents and save human life

To make profit for the user

To ensure customer satisfaction and to maintain the manufacturer s reputation

To aid in better product design

To control manufacturing processes

To lower manufacturing costs

To maintain uniform quality level

Determining the application of NDE methods to manufactured goods requires that:

a) The evaluation method and procedure must be compatible with the inspection objectives and type of defect to be detected

b) The inspector having sufficient knowledge and experience

c) The standard for acceptance must appropriately define the undesirable characteristics of a nonconforming part.

InspectionMT Method Materials Inspection, Examination and TestingLiquid Penetrant Method ndeUltrasonic Examination Visual Examination nde, ndt, ndiRadiation Safety Nondestructive ExaminationRadiogrphy

Head Office 2912 Phyllis St. Jacksonville FL 32205 USA