Industries using the WiKi-SCAN™
The WiKi-SCAN™ can be used effectively as a portable welding inspection system in a variety of different sectors! Some of the industries that have had the most success with the highest installed base include:
Off-Road – Construction, Agriculture and Earth Moving Equipment
The WiKi-SCAN™ has a multitude of applications for the Off-Road industry. Typical applications include: Buckets, cabs, road paver blades, mining shovel components, bulldozer frames, backhoe booms, farm tillers and seeders, mining truck bodies.
Example: WiKi-SCAN™ can measure features critical for extended fatigue life including undercut, toe angle and excessive convexity. Auditing of supplier welded components, either onsite or in-house, has also been very productive to insure conformance to quality standards.
Defense – Aerospace, Tanks/Vehicles and Shipbuilding
The WiKi-SCAN™ also has countless uses for the defense sector. Typical applications include: Engine casings, personnel carrier cabs, army tanks, submarine hulls, ship decking stiffeners, fuel tanks.
Example: Used by army vehicle development centers to verify if welding on new prototypes is within tolerances prior to testing. Provides accurate documented results that can be correlated to destructive testing vehicles. For shipyards, it is used to confirm that small, precise welds are of minimum size but not excessive size, which may cause distortion.
Power Generation – Nuclear, Solar and Wind
Typical applications include: Transformers, wind towers, electrical enclosures, nuclear containment vessels, nuclear waste storage containers, solar panel frames.
Example: For wind towers, there are specific requirements for “hi-low” measurements before welding to verify that the fit-up is correct. After welding, “hi-low” is again measured as well as height, width, height/width, undercut and toe angles.
Structures
Typical applications include: Light poles, skyscraper columns, water cooling panels, bridge decking, bridge pillars, aluminum concrete forms.
Example: Contract manufacturers work in various industries fabricating a variety of products, and they also work to many different customer quality standards and welding codes. One of the most stringent requirements is undercut held to less than 0.84 mm (1/32”) which is almost impossible to measure and thus over repair occurs, due to over inspection.
Mechanized submerged arc welding is often used in the industry for long welds and the need to meet a minimum weld normally results in substantial overwelding, which is not only costly but causes more distortion. The WiKi-SCAN™ can be used to check the setup so the weld is “dialed in’’ correctly before a single structure is completed.
Tank and Vessel
Typical applications include: Water heater tanks, gas tanks, air cylinders, bulk storage tanks, corrugated panels, and safes.
Example: The WiKi-SCAN™ can be used to optimize the weld quality for different tank types and across several stations making the same parts. Key features can be measured and compared to the “perfect weld” to insure every weld is within acceptable tolerances.
Transportation – Automotive (trucks/trailers), Aircraft, Railroad and Shipbuilding
Typical applications include: Bumpers, railroad cars, railroad bogeys, truck frames, and forklift frames/masts.
Example: Insuring weld size is closer to the value specified on the drawing reduces the ship panel distortion (bowing) which will reduce the high cost of straightening to bring back into tolerance. Auditing both the original joint, to insure it is within tolerance, and the final weld will identify potential problems.
Tube and Pipe
Typical applications include: Offshore oil rig risers, spiral pipe, roll formed tubes, radiators, transmission pipe and irrigation piping.
Example: Used to assess setup of a tube mill to insure the joint preparation is within tolerance and to insure welding process is tuned in correctly.
R&D Centers, Colleges, Training Centers
Typical applications include: Welding process development, Welding Procedure Qualification Record (WPQR)/Welding Process Specification Development, welder training assessment.
Example: Can be used for a Design of Experiment test to precisely measure inputs (joint contour, included area, etc.) and outputs including weld size, undercut, toe angle, etc. can be used to provide objective and actionable feedback to make welder training more effective.
Industries using the WiKi-SCAN™
The WiKi-SCAN™ can be used effectively as a portable welding inspection system in a variety of different sectors! Some of the industries that have had the most success with the highest installed base include:
Off-Road – Construction, Agriculture and Earth Moving Equipment
The WiKi-SCAN™ has a multitude of applications for the Off-Road industry. Typical applications include: Buckets, cabs, road paver blades, mining shovel components, bulldozer frames, backhoe booms, farm tillers and seeders, mining truck bodies.
Example: WiKi-SCAN™ can measure features critical for extended fatigue life including undercut, toe angle and excessive convexity. Auditing of supplier welded components, either onsite or in-house, has also been very productive to insure conformance to quality standards.
Defense – Aerospace, Tanks/Vehicles and Shipbuilding
The WiKi-SCAN™ also has countless uses for the defense sector. Typical applications include: Engine casings, personnel carrier cabs, army tanks, submarine hulls, ship decking stiffeners, fuel tanks.
Example: Used by army vehicle development centers to verify if welding on new prototypes is within tolerances prior to testing. Provides accurate documented results that can be correlated to destructive testing vehicles. For shipyards, it is used to confirm that small, precise welds are of minimum size but not excessive size, which may cause distortion.
Power Generation – Nuclear, Solar and Wind
Typical applications include: Transformers, wind towers, electrical enclosures, nuclear containment vessels, nuclear waste storage containers, solar panel frames.
Example: For wind towers, there are specific requirements for “hi-low” measurements before welding to verify that the fit-up is correct. After welding, “hi-low” is again measured as well as height, width, height/width, undercut and toe angles.
Structures
Typical applications include: Light poles, skyscraper columns, water cooling panels, bridge decking, bridge pillars, aluminum concrete forms.
Example: Contract manufacturers work in various industries fabricating a variety of products, and they also work to many different customer quality standards and welding codes. One of the most stringent requirements is undercut held to less than 0.84 mm (1/32”) which is almost impossible to measure and thus over repair occurs, due to over inspection.
Mechanized submerged arc welding is often used in the industry for long welds and the need to meet a minimum weld normally results in substantial overwelding, which is not only costly but causes more distortion. The WiKi-SCAN™ can be used to check the setup so the weld is “dialed in’’ correctly before a single structure is completed.
Tank and Vessel
Typical applications include: Water heater tanks, gas tanks, air cylinders, bulk storage tanks, corrugated panels, and safes.
Example: The WiKi-SCAN™ can be used to optimize the weld quality for different tank types and across several stations making the same parts. Key features can be measured and compared to the “perfect weld” to insure every weld is within acceptable tolerances.
Transportation – Automotive (trucks/trailers), Aircraft, Railroad and Shipbuilding
Typical applications include: Bumpers, railroad cars, railroad bogeys, truck frames, and forklift frames/masts.
Example: Insuring weld size is closer to the value specified on the drawing reduces the ship panel distortion (bowing) which will reduce the high cost of straightening to bring back into tolerance. Auditing both the original joint, to insure it is within tolerance, and the final weld will identify potential problems.
Tube and Pipe
Typical applications include: Offshore oil rig risers, spiral pipe, roll formed tubes, radiators, transmission pipe and irrigation piping.
Example: Used to assess setup of a tube mill to insure the joint preparation is within tolerance and to insure welding process is tuned in correctly.
R&D Centers, Colleges, Training Centers
Typical applications include: Welding process development, Welding Procedure Qualification Record (WPQR)/Welding Process Specification Development, welder training assessment.
Example: Can be used for a Design of Experiment test to precisely measure inputs (joint contour, included area, etc.) and outputs including weld size, undercut, toe angle, etc. can be used to provide objective and actionable feedback to make welder training more effective.