Vector 2Ds Help Montupet Maintain Its Quality Standards

Huerth, Germany – Januaray 10, 2007 – Two Vector 2D eddy current inspection instruments from GE Inspection Technologies, are helping Montupet to maintain the very high quality manufacturing standards involved in the production of aluminium cylinder heads at its Belfast factory. By using the Vector 2Ds to provide 100% inspection, Montupet is ensuring that it adheres to its rigorous quality policy to ensure long-term customer satisfaction.

Montupet works in partnership with many of the major European and American automobile manufacturers and is acknowledged as a world leader in the design, development and manufacture of aluminium cylinder heads, as well as being a major supplier of other aluminium automotive products such as wheel rims.

Cylinder heads at its Belfast factory are manufactured using the low pressure casting technique, which features very tight control of die filling to preserve the quality of the cast alloy. Following casting, the heads are “tubed” to debur all waterways and bores, before being heat-treated. They are supplied to the relevant automobile manufacturer with a 0.7mm skin on the combustion face and this is precisely removed by the customer before the head is fitted to the engine block.

It is important that this mating surface revealed by the final skimming is absolutely perfect. However, even the most precise of casting techniques carry a risk of shrinkage and to ensure that any such flaws are detected before the heads are delivered to the customer, Montupet decided to investigate the use eddy current techniques to detect any signs of sub-surface shrinkage or porosity. Consequently, they installed a Vector 2D, on loan from Labquip, GE Inspection Technologies Northern Ireland distributor, to carry out preliminary trials.

This proved so successful that an inspection station was set up on the production line. The Vector 2D has been calibrated to detect a 0.7mm hole, 0.7mm below the surface, to ensure that any cylinder heads delivered to the customer will be flaw -free when they are final skimmed. Set-up is a simple affair with the instrument, as its intuitive, single page set-up menu eliminates the need for complicated set-up procedures. Explaining his decision to opt for the Vector 2D, Andy Chambers, Process Engineer at Montupet, said, “I particularly liked the instrument’s large screen which makes it easy for the operator to come to a quick sentencing decision. The inspection process is now a very fast and reliable operation as the operator just needs to scan the probe over a template area on the casting. I also find the analogue outputs useful, as I can record these for inspection traceability, a feature which is particularly helpful for monitoring night shift operations.” In fact, so successful has the installation been that a second Vector 2D has now been installed on the production line to increase overall productivity.

Low frequency eddy current is ideal for this type of application, as sub-surface flaws in aluminium and similar structures can be detected at depths up to 10mm. The Vector 2D has been specifically designed to take advantage of this and provides fast and reliable, on-line and off-line inspection in the automotive and metals sectors, where it is used to identify defects such as surface-breaking and sub-surface cracks in a wide variety of components, regardless of complex geometry. It features high probe sample refresh rates to allow accurate inspection at high line speeds and it incorporates the latest, state-of-the-art filter technology to provide the best signal-to-noise ratio of any comparable instrument on the market. As well as operating as a stand-alone unit, the Vector 2D can also be easily integrated into automated systems, where its output can be used to activate a paint marking system, an alarm signal or an accept/reject gate, minimising the need for human operation during the inspection process. This is particularly useful when the instrument is used for hardness sorting, where it detects differences in conductivity.

Real time display of all inspections is provided on an easily viewable LCD and there is capacity to save up to 50 traces and 50 settings internally. Data can be downloaded to a PC via an RS232 connection or via a standard I/O connector to an A to D board or a strip chart recorder.

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