General Electric Company

Theodore W Sippel

Douglas S Steele

Charles Robert Wojciechowski

Joseph J Sostarich

Kristina H Hedengren

David W Oliver

Ralph Gerald Isaacs

Rudolph A Koegl

Joseph Czechowski, Iii

George Edward Williams

Joseph Manuel Portaz

John P Keaveney

John Robert Brehm

Henry J Scudder, Iii

Thomas G Kincaid

Larry C Howington

James M Brown, Jr

Richard D Miller

James W Schuler

An X-ray inspection system for manually or automatically performing digital fluoroscopy inspections and/or computed tomography inspections by X-ray examination of manufactured parts incorporates a computer system which automatically analyzes the inspected parts for flaws. The system includes apparatus for automatically positioning the parts in an X-ray machine for obtaining fluoroscopy and tomography views of the part and for acquiring data from the inspections at production rates. The system automatically identifies the location of rejectable flaws in the parts during the fluoroscopy scanning and subsequently identifies those locations for obtaining tomography scans, if the identified flaw location is questionable. The system can automatically reject parts containing flaws identified during the fluoroscopy inspections. This system operates in a real-time environment by providing analysis of one part while a subsequent part is being subjected to X-ray examination. The data obtained during each examination is archived and stored for tracking the part in further manufacturing processes.

X-ray inspection system

A gripper for holding a manufactured part in a X-ray inspection system. The gripper includes a stationary jaw, a slidable jaw, a gripper base, a wear plate, a centering bushing an end plate, and a cam actuated spring mechanism for opening and closing the jaws. Both jaws are removable and adjustable in a keyway. Set screws are used to hold the jaws in place for a predetermined separation and allows a part to be positioned off center. The removable aspect allows for various jaw configurations. The centering bushing includes a cam shaped opening for accepting an end of an pneumatic activated ball plunger of a numerically controlled part manipulator. The centering bushing aligns the gripper to the longitudinal axis of the part manipulator.

Method and device for gripping parts in an X-ray inspection system

The present invention relates to detectors used in X-ray tomographic imaging. The invention describes a multi-element detector array which detects ionization events in a xenon dielectric, and also describes a pressure vessel for containment of the xenon and detector.

Ionization detector

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Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

Theodore W Sippel