Improvement of inspection reliabilityImprovement of work efficiencyImprovement of traceabilityEasy quality trend management

Robotics

Autonomous Ultrasonic Testing Robot (UT-Robot) for Inspecting Metal Plates

Automates the off-line ultrasonic inspection process for Metal Plates ,
achieving enhanced inspection reliability and work efficiency!

Solution Point

Automation of off-line ultrasonic inspection (UT).
Human involvement is limited to setting the robot on the plate, because the robot travels autonomously on the plate.
Wireless UT-Robot travels by battery power.
Non-stop operation from the start of inspection to output of the inspection results, so inspection results cannot be falsified.
The compact, lightweight UT-Robot can be carried by one person.
Multiple robots can operate simultaneously in the same inspection area (= simultaneous inspection of multiple plates is possible).

Features 01

Expected Problems

・Are off-line inspections performed by inspectors with sensors?

・Are many inspectors needed to perform manual internal flaw detection for wide plates?

・Are setting of the flaw detection range, identification of defect positions, and recording of inspection results done manually using paper or by human data input?

・Are inspection results sometimes changed (i.e., falsified) during an inspection?

Features 02

Technology highlight

・Highly accurate self-position recognition on the plate.

・Automatic calculation of the target flaw detection path.

・Automation of the entire process from flaw detection to pass-fail judgment.

・Improvement of reliability to the same level as on-line automatic UT inspections.

・Three units are currently in automatic operation at East Japan Works–Keihin.

Autonomous Ultrasonic Testing Robot (UT-Robot) for Inspecting Steel Plates

Features 03

Proposed Solutions (Examples)

・Introduction at inspection sites for materials (both metals and non-metals) where ultrasonic flaw detection is necessary.

・Supply of the high accuracy self-position recognition system and UT-Robot. (The high accuracy self-position recognition system can also be purchased by customer.)

・Selection of an ultrasonic flaw detector corresponding to the JIS standard required at the inspection site.

Links 01