Anton du Plessis

Author's posts

Jul 31

Botany CT Scans

In this example, preliminary work was done by Prof Guy Midgley investigating the internal structures of selected South African plant leaves. One succulent and one Leucadendron laureolum leaf was scanned at different resolutions, though even higher resolution and detail is still possible. See below images of the succulent and images and a movie of the …

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Jul 22

Wristwatch

A wristwatch is a good everyday example of what can be done with this technology, with good scan quality and enough analysis time. A normal digital X-ray image movie shows the capability of live X-ray imaging, where you can see the watch tick: 04072014_02 Watch X-ray 2 7FPS~4 All the X-ray images in a scan …

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Jul 22

Consumer product testing: cookies

Non-destructive testing of consumer products is not new, with many laws protecting consumers. However, producers and suppliers do not test products unless explicity legally required. We offer simple analysis and testing for any users. In this example, we illustrate how a packet of cookies can be quickly inspected by CT scanning and X-ray imaging, with …

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Jun 30

Titanium aerospace investment casting

In this work, a Titanium aerospace investment casting was analyzed by X-ray micro Computed Tomography (X-ray microCT). The geometry cast and evaluated was supplied by Boeing, and was supplied to CSIR as a design file. This geometry is used to benchmark titanium casting processes and suppliers against aerospace standards. Key features of interest are internal …

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Jun 19

Beer Mug Metrology

A beer mug was acquired from Germany during a training visit, and it was decided to use this as an example for dimensional measurement or metrology using X-ray CT. The simple process employs best-fit planes and cylinders in this case to determine the height and diameter of the mug, though any distances or angles could …

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Jun 19

Bullet

This simple example demonstrates two things: 1. It is possible to penetrate and successfully scan a small dense object such as a bullet (containing lead) 2. Accurate dimensional measurements are possible using metrology tools, allowing for example forensic analysis of such samples, ie. determining the caliber or make of the bullet MOVIE: Analysis performed in …

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May 19

Nondestructive analysis of solder joints

Here we show solder joints and wire connections inside a large product, imaged nondestructively. X-ray CT is cost effective for testing all such solder connections even in large parts.

May 19

Rock porosity

This example showcases the capability for X-ray microscopy. In some small samples, it is very difficult to physically cut and image the sample using SEM or optical microscopy, especially when looking for porosity. In this example a rock fragment is imaged, showing very high resolution detail such as porosity and inclusions. This was done at …

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May 19

Abalone shell

This example is an abalone shell with coral on top of the shell. Some of the images show the internal connected pathways in the coral.

May 19

Fibre orientation analysis

Metal fibres (wires) and mesh are often used to reinforce concrete structures, but the angles of these fibres and their separation can affect the strength of the structure, hence full 3D analysis of the fibre orientation can be very useful in understanding material performance. This example shows colour coding for 3D angle orientation, ie. the …

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