Forum for Science, Industry and Business

CT-Automat: Fully automatic serial testing of materials and components

The CT Automat is used by Europe's leading seed producers to minimize seed rejects especially in case of sugar beet seeds to ensure at same time high-quality seeds, a “guaranteed germination rate", and a steady.

Fully automated laboratory system for industrial quality control

Fraunhofer IZFP

CT-Automat: Fully automatic, process-integrated, and reliable!

Fraunhofer IZFP

This fully automated CT system was developed under the direction of Dr. Felix Porsch, group leader "3D X-ray CT" at Fraunhofer IZFP in Saarbrücken, Germany. "Compared to conventional radiography, computed tomography can provide much more detailed and especially quantitative information, as it provides the full volume information of each individual seed", Dr. Porsch explains, whose team of scientists and engineers has adjusted this inspection method for use in seed production and then qualified it for industrial use in joint collaboration with industry partners as a nondestructive and fully automated inspection system that can be integrated into the quality control of virtually any manufacturing process of small parts.

"Our CT-Automat and its corresponding automatic image analysis software provide an easy way to considerably raise both, the number of random samplings and the reliability of the analysis results. As a consequence, the quality of the seeds has undergone a significant enhancement," Dr. Porsch emphasized further.

But the scope of this "All-rounder" is not restricted to the evaluation of seed: A whole bunch of applications become accessible, e.g. the characterization of material samples (pore or particle size distribution) or bulk goods, or the integrity control of components.

This is true even for single parts within a large batch of small parts. In particular, samples of synthetic, organic or ceramic materials and light alloy are suited for tests with the X-ray machine. "Our automated CT system provides the opportunity to examine a large number of samples or components in a short time.

Thus, the system can be used in test laboratories for incoming goods inspection or even for production-related quality control. Depending on the object size a geometric resolution down to 20 micrometers is accessible; depending on the sample size and material, the recording time requires just a few minutes. Thus, up to 500 samples are testable per day", Porsch continues.

Due to its compact size of a smaller cabinet, the CT system can be hosted in any laboratory area, with the complete X-ray technology, the sample changer and the control and computer technology inside the case. 24-hour continuous operation, auto-calibration and self-monitoring with reference samples are further advantages in favor of the integrated quality control in industrial series production: Time-consuming and costly procedures are a thing of the past.

Weitere Informationen:

http://www.izfp.fraunhofer.de/de/Presse/Downloads.html

Sabine Poitevin-Burbes | Fraunhofer-Institut für Zerstörungsfreie Prüfverfahren IZFP

Im Focus: Can we see monkeys from space? Emerging technologies to map biodiversity

An international team of scientists has proposed a new multi-disciplinary approach in which an array of new technologies will allow us to map biodiversity and the risks that wildlife is facing at the scale of whole landscapes. The findings are published in Nature Ecology and Evolution. This international research is led by the Kunming Institute of Zoology from China, University of East Anglia, University of Leicester and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research.

Using a combination of satellite and ground data, the team proposes that it is now possible to map biodiversity with an accuracy that has not been previously...

Im Focus: Climate satellite: Tracking methane with robust laser technology

Heatwaves in the Arctic, longer periods of vegetation in Europe, severe floods in West Africa – starting in 2021, scientists want to explore the emissions of the greenhouse gas methane with the German-French satellite MERLIN. This is made possible by a new robust laser system of the Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen, which achieves unprecedented measurement accuracy.

Methane is primarily the result of the decomposition of organic matter. The gas has a 25 times greater warming potential than carbon dioxide, but is not as...

Im Focus: How protons move through a fuel cell

Hydrogen is regarded as the energy source of the future: It is produced with solar power and can be used to generate heat and electricity in fuel cells. Empa researchers have now succeeded in decoding the movement of hydrogen ions in crystals – a key step towards more efficient energy conversion in the hydrogen industry of tomorrow.

As charge carriers, electrons and ions play the leading role in electrochemical energy storage devices and converters such as batteries and fuel cells. Proton...

Im Focus: A unique data centre for cosmological simulations

Scientists from the Excellence Cluster Universe at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich have establised "Cosmowebportal", a unique data centre for cosmological simulations located at the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. The complete results of a series of large hydrodynamical cosmological simulations are available, with data volumes typically exceeding several hundred terabytes. Scientists worldwide can interactively explore these complex simulations via a web interface and directly access the results.

With current telescopes, scientists can observe our Universe’s galaxies and galaxy clusters and their distribution along an invisible cosmic web. From the...

Im Focus: Scientists develop molecular thermometer for contactless measurement using infrared light

Temperature measurements possible even on the smallest scale / Molecular ruby for use in material sciences, biology, and medicine

Chemists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in cooperation with researchers of the German Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM)...