As a manufacturing operation, you want to keep costs to a minimum and product quality at its highest. Wall thickness is one of many parameters that must be accurate to produce viable components, so MicronPA offers CT scanning for wall thickness to help identify optimal wall thickness and maintain the quality of your output.
What Is a Wall Thickness Analysis?
Wall thickness analysis is a measurement technique that visualizes material distributions and thickness across a part. It determines if the wall thickness is within a design’s tolerances and if it will perform correctly. Thickness measurements are taken from one surface on a model or part to the opposite surface.
Often, wall thickness analysis is an essential part of component manufacturing.
Where Is Wall Thickness Analysis Useful?
Wall thickness measurement is common practice when material distribution can be inconsistent. It’s also valuable in high-precision industries. Examples of uses for wall thickness analysis include:
- Automotive and aerospace: In these industries, parts must be produced in adherence to tight tolerances.
- Plastics and cast parts: Inconsistencies in material distribution makes measurement for thickness particularly valuable with cast or plastic parts.
What Are the Benefits of Checking Wall Thickness?
Measuring the wall thickness of parts can be beneficial to manufacturing operations in a few ways:
- Cost savings: A primary benefit of wall thickness analysis is reduced production costs. When you identify the optimal wall thickness, you produce parts more efficiently, reducing waste and keeping costs down.
- Increased efficiency: If you don’t know the ideal thickness, you may make parts that weigh too much or use excess material, which can lead to delays or excess waste. Inaccurate weights or measurements can create problems during the casting process.
- Better designs: Using computer-aided design (CAD) to measure nominal wall thickness allows us to compare the thickness to scanned data. The comparison improves your designs and ensures your product meets design requirements.
- Happier customers: The more your product meets design requirements and the better they stay within tolerances, the more satisfied your customers are likely to be.
How We Measure Wall Thickness
MicronPA uses non-destructive CT scanning to measure wall thickness. CT scanning allows us to get an inside view of the part without having to break it apart to examine it. The method preserves your sample’s integrity. Using a CT scanner also allows us to get a more accurate and complete measurement of a wall’s thickness compared to manual methods, which provides a more comprehensive view of a design’s accuracy. CT scanning is also ideal when you need to measure the wall thickness of very small parts.
The scanner creates an internal and external boundary around the evaluated part during the analysis. It measures the distance between each surface to find the wall thickness.
A 3D model uses color coding to show thickness variations and create a graph with wall thickness deviations. Color-coding highlights weak areas in the part or areas where the thickness is an unwanted value. Detecting weaknesses or other problems minimizes potentially expensive production errors.
After scanning a part, we can compare the scan results to a CAD model, using color coding to highlight any differences between the actual part and the model.
When manufacturers better understand a component’s material distribution, they can make accurate adjustments to their production processes.
MicronPA Is Your Single Source for Inspection Services
MicronPA uses a personalized approach for inspection services by taking the time to understand your unique manufacturing and business requirements. While we can offer wall thickness analysis as a stand-alone service, we also provide a range of other inspection types to validate component accuracy.
We value your time, so we efficiently handle your wall thickness analysis to keep you on schedule. Our responsive customer service and fast turnaround times ensure you get the inspection services you need when you need them.
Contact Us for Nondestructive Wall-Thickness Measurement
MicronPA operates out of a certified and accredited lab in York, PA, and we serve companies in Pennsylvania and beyond. Request a free quote today to get started, or get in touch with us to learn more about our capabilities.
