Non-destructive serial testing with industrial CT for PARTS, batches & lots
Your components have hidden defects in unknown batches. Wall thicknesses deviate in places that cannot be measured from the outside. Faulty joints only show up on disassembly. Your customer demands proof for 100% of parts, but you only test samples. Or you cut components open and lose exactly the parts you wanted to deliver. In each of these cases, sampling is no longer enough, and destructive testing becomes too expensive.
Industrial CT makes non-destructive serial testing possible at high throughput: from individual components to sorting entire batches to large lot sizes. With cycle times under 60 seconds, automated evaluation and traceable documentation.
When is inspection alongside series production necessary?
Not every production run needs 100% inspection. But there are situations in which sampling is no longer enough:
Destructive testing is too expensive
Every micrograph and every cut costs you a component. With high-value or complex parts, that adds up quickly. And the result applies only to that one part, not to the rest of the batch.
Your customer requires 100% inspection
In the automotive, medical technology and aerospace industries, this is often a prerequisite for approving safety-relevant components. No documented proof, no delivery.
Your batches are blocked
A complaint, a suspected defect or a process event is enough to block entire batches. The affected parts have to be found without needlessly scrapping thousands of components.
Your scrap rate is rising, but you can't find the cause
You see the effect in your complaint figures, but not in the component. Hidden defects cannot be seen from the outside. Without looking inside every part, the cause of the defect remains unknown.
Manual inspection can't keep pace
Your production volume is growing, but your inspection capacity isn’t. Manual evaluation becomes the bottleneck. You need a process that scales with production.
What can be inspected in CT serial testing
A CT scan captures the entire component in a single pass. Evaluation can cover the whole component or be limited to defined areas. In series production, often only the quality-critical features are monitored automatically to keep inspection time and costs down.
A wide range of inspection tasks can be derived from this one data set. Some examples:
Defect analysis
- Visualisation of pores, shrinkage cavities & inclusions in 2D & 3D
- Examination of machined surfaces
- Standard-compliant (e.g. P202, VW50093)
- Inspection of cavities for burrs, core residues & chips
Dimensions
- Wall thickness measurement
- CAD nominal/actual comparisons across the entire component volume
- Nominal/actual comparisons to assess reproducibility
Assembly & joining
- Checking assemblies for completeness and correct fit
- Inspection of joints such as welds, rivets and bonds
- Inspection in the assembled state, without disassembly
What you can do with series data
Every CT scan in the series produces a complete data set. Together, they form a database that goes far beyond OK/NOK sorting:
Batch and sorting inspection
We inspect larger quantities specifically for the relevant defect. The result is a clear separation into OK and NOK parts. Instead of rejecting entire batches, parts that are still usable can be identified and released.
Proving process capability
Capability indices (Cpk, Cmk) can be calculated from the measurement data across several batches. This shows whether your manufacturing process is capable and under control, or whether action is needed.
Deriving tool corrections
CT data reveal systematic deviations between nominal and actual. These correction data can feed directly into tool adjustment, whether for injection moulding, die casting or other. Fewer iteration loops, faster approval.
Detecting production trends
Across several build jobs or batches, the series data reveal gradual changes in wall thicknesses, geometries or defect frequencies. This lets you react before tolerance limits are exceeded.
Microvista supplies the data and the evaluation. How you use them for process optimisation, tool correction or capability verification is up to you.
How CT serial testing works at Microvista
Requirements
Which defects, which tolerances, how many parts? From this we define the inspection scope and level of automation.
Inspection program
Scan parameters, alignment and OK/NOK criteria are set up once for your component.
Scan
Under 60 seconds to a few minutes per scan. Multi-part scans capture several components at once.
Evaluation
Defects are detected automatically and assessed against your limit values. OK or NOK per component.
Results
Status, inspection images and progress live in the InspectHub portal, exportable as CSV or PDF.
Sorting
OK parts move on, NOK parts are sorted out. Every finding belongs to exactly one component.
Three ways to serial testing
CT LAB
You send. We inspect.
EXPRESS INSPECTION IN UNDER 24 HOURS
- Scanned: in our German inspection lab
- Logistics: delivery and collection
- Investment: no equipment of your own needed
- Results: digital in InspectHub
MOBILE CT SCANEXPRESS
We come to you.
ON SITE WITHIN 48 HOURS*
- Scanned: the CT is set up at your site
- Logistics: no shipping
- Investment: no equipment of your own needed
- Results: digital in InspectHub
YOUR OWN CT WITH INSPECTHUB
You scan. We evaluate.
RESULTS WITHIN MINUTES
- Scanned: on your own CT
- Logistics: none
- Investment: own CT system for the scanning process
- Results: data run through our evaluation chain or via InspectHub
Start right away: Automated inspection needs a start-up period until the inspection program is set up. We can inspect manually right away. All three models are available as a one-off service or under a framework agreement.
What does CT serial testing cost?
The cost per part falls as automation and quantities increase. With fully automated serial testing, inspection costs per part can be up to 85 percent lower than with manual inspection.
Factors influencing the cost per part:
Degree of automation: The more standardised the inspection process, the lower the cost per part. Once set up, an inspection program runs for every further part without additional effort.
Quantity: Higher volumes spread the set-up costs over more parts. CT becomes economically attractive from just a few hundred parts per series.
Scope of inspection: A pure porosity analysis costs less than a complete first article inspection with nominal/actual comparison, wall thickness measurement and defect classification. We adapt the scope to what you actually need.
Delivery model: CT lab, mobile CT and evaluation software have different cost structures. We advise you on which model is the most economical for your situation.
Why Microvista for serial testing?
More than 15 years of experience with industrial CT
We don't shy away from complex projects.
Automated evaluation
Our specially developed software with cloud connectivity (InspectHub) drastically reduces evaluation effort. Standardised processes ensure reproducible results.
Three delivery models
CT lab, mobile CT or evaluation software. Whether as a one-off service or an ongoing framework agreement: you choose what suits your situation.
Cross-industry
Automotive, medical technology, foundry, additive manufacturing and more. We know the requirements of many industries.
Traceability
Every inspection result is digitally documented and can be accessed and exported at any time.
Get your free consultation now!
GET YOUR INSPECTION DONE – Anywhere. Anytime. Fast.
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Contact person for immediate support
Jonas Wengerodt
Sales Manager
Dr. Robin Höhne
CEO | Microvista GmbH
Frequently asked questions about non-destructive serial testing
There is no general answer to this. Influencing factors are the component value, the cost of defects and their consequences, the expected scrap rate and the throughput of the CT inspection itself, which in turn depends on the inspection task. For high-value components or high complaint costs, CT can pay off from just a few hundred parts per series. Set-up costs are incurred once; after that, the cost per part falls with every further batch. We will be happy to advise you on what applies to your application. Our cost calculator uses the ScanExpress as an example to show when CT inspection pays off in series production and which factors need to be considered. Feel free to try it out.
This mainly depends on the required scan quality, which in turn depends on component size and inspection task. Typical inspection times range from < 60 seconds to a few minutes. With multi-part scans, several components can be captured at once, which further reduces the effective inspection time per part.
Not necessarily. With the mobile CT (ScanExpress), we come to you. Or you scan with your own CT and use Microvista’s evaluation for automated inspection.
Because CT provides a complete 3D image of the component geometry, including the internal material structure, practically any inspection task based on assessing shape, dimensions, position, completeness or material integrity can be automated. Typical inspection tasks include defect analysis (pores, shrinkage cavities, cracks, inclusions, burrs, core residues), dimensional inspection (wall thicknesses, nominal/actual comparison, geometric deviations) and assembly and joint inspection (completeness, fit, welded and bonded joints). Targeted evaluation of component areas, whether defined surfaces or partial volumes, is just as possible as evaluation of the entire component volume.
If you rent the mobile industrial CT, the Microvista SCANEXPRESS, you receive your results automatically directly after the scan.
When your scans are evaluated via the Microvista Cloud, it depends on whether it is a single-part or serial inspection. In both cases, however, evaluation process within 24 hours is usually possible.
Via the Microvista portal (InspectHub): OK/NOK status per part, inspection images, defect lists, batch overviews. Everything can be exported as CSV or PDF. For ongoing series, with a live progress display.
Computed tomography captures the internal and external component structure non-destructively and completely, and can therefore replace many conventional destructive tests or significantly reduce their scope. Complete substitution is not always possible, however, because certain material and functional properties can only be determined by loading to failure or by direct material characterisation. In some industries and standards, accompanying destructive testing is required for validation. We will advise you on what applies to your application.