NDT based process monitoring and control

The old focus on using automation was simply to increase productivity and reduce costs. Today, global competition is forcing manufacturers not only to contain costs but also to improve quality of products and processes. Thus, the purpose of automation has shifted to broader issues. Highly automated processes ensure high quality on a constant level. But, increasing the degree of automation also increases the consequences of error. Therefore, a high degree of automation requires a high degree of (automated) monitoring and control. Consequently, a steady need for automated non-destructive testing (ndt) is observed in industry. Integrated process and condition monitoring by ndt is an accepted procedure to early diagnosis of irregular process conditions followed by feed back control and optimization. It was forecast in different studies of the market, that this process integrated ndt will record two-digit rates of increase within the next years. Process integrated ndt has to fulfil the requirements of today's industrial production concerning integrability, automation, speed, reliability and profitability. Meanwhile, examples can be found in metal production, automotive and mechanical engineering.