February 2025 Volume 7

EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY

Making the Most of N-Ray Success with N-ray inspection starts with clearly defined require ments. Work with your inspection provider to specify acceptance criteria, critical defect parameters, and required documentation formats. Experienced providers can help optimize imaging proto cols for your specific applications, potentially developing custom techniques like modified contrast enhancement methods for specific defect types. Consider N-ray as part of a comprehensive inspection strategy rather than a standalone solution. Many manufacturers success fully combine N-ray with other NDT methods to achieve complete coverage. Maintain detailed documentation of inspection results, including specific imaging parameters used, areas examined, and find ings. This data proves invaluable for trend analysis and process improvement. Regular review of inspection results can help refine acceptance criteria and identify opportunities to prevent defects through process adjustments. Looking Ahead As manufacturing processes become more sophisticated and quality requirements more stringent, comprehensive inspection strategies become increasingly critical. N-Ray imaging repre sents an important tool in the modern quality assurance toolkit, particularly for applications involving dense materials or complex assemblies. By understanding where this technology offers unique advantages, manufacturers can make informed decisions about incorporating it into their inspection protocols. With continued advancement in digital imaging capabilities and growing accessibility of inspection services, N-Ray technology is positioned to play an increasingly important role in ensuring product quality and reliability across the forging industry.

N-ray proves particularly valuable in several quality-critical appli cations: • Examining welds, where the high boron content in welding flux provides natural contrast enhancement • Detecting defects in thick and dense metal components that challenge traditional X-ray inspection • Identifying corrosion, cracks, and structural failures through contrast enhancement techniques • Analyzing adhesive bonds and composite material integrity This image shows how gadolinium tagging reveals surface and subsurface defects in dense metal components - the gadolinium solution penetrates into fine cracks and discontinuities, making them clearly visible in the neutron image.

A neutron image of an aluminum rod tagged with a gadolinium-based dye penetrant. The penetrant makes even the small crack on top visible when it would not have been otherwise. Integration with Quality Processes Quality managers will find that neutron imaging can complement existing inspection protocols effectively. Success starts with clearly defining inspection requirements based on component characteris tics and quality standards. Consider what specific defects or condi tions need detection, understand how the component's material and geometry affect imaging, and determine required documenta tion and certification standards. The technology adapts well to various quality assurance needs, from prototype evaluation to production inspection and failure analysis. Practical Implementation When considering neutron imaging, manufacturers should focus particularly on applications involving dense materials where tradi tional X-ray inspection faces limitations. The technology proves most valuable in specific scenarios, such as examining thick metal components or investigating failures where other NDT methods haven't provided clear answers. Your neutron imaging provider can help determine whether your inspection needs align with the technology's strengths.

Gregory J. Weaver Account Executive ASNT & NAS-410 Level III Phoenix Imaging Phone: 505-340-5680 Email: gregweaver@phoenixwi.com

FIA MAGAZINE | FEBRUARY 2025 19