Non-destructive testing (NDT), mechanical vibration measurement, optical surface characterisation (gloss, colour, lighting) and acoustic measurement bring together a set of cross-cutting physical quantities used for inspection, predictive maintenance and quality control. The technologies include ultrasonic flaw detectors, holiday detectors for pores in coatings, gloss meters, colour sensors and spectrophotometers, lux meters, UV meters, sound level meters, portable vibration meters and FFT vibration analysers.
Would you like help choosing the right product ?
Non-destructive testing and inspection
Ultrasonic flaw detectors (UT flaw detectors) send acoustic pulses into the material and analyse the internal reflections to locate cracks, lack of fusion, inclusions and volumetric defects in welds, forgings and castings. The more advanced techniques (Phased Array, TOFD) allow 2D/3D imaging of the defects. Holiday detectors for coatings use a wet sponge with direct current (low voltage) or a high-voltage spark electrode to locate discontinuities that would expose the substrate. These tests are governed by ISO 17640 and ISO 19232 for UT, and by NACE SP0188 and ASTM G62 for holiday detection.
Optical surface measurement
The gloss meter measures gloss by reflecting a light beam at 20°, 60° or 85° off the surface and quantifying the intensity of the specular reflection in GU (Gloss Units), in accordance with ISO 2813 and ASTM D523. Colour measurement uses spectrophotometers or colorimeters that provide L*a*b* coordinates according to the CIE 1976 system, with ΔE colour difference measurement for quality control of paints, textiles, plastics and food. In-line industrial colour sensors (cromaview and similar) allow automatic inspection during production. Lux meters measure illuminance (lux), while UV meters measure UVA/UVB/UVC irradiance (mW/cm²) for industrial and safety applications.
Vibration and acoustics
Portable vibration meters measure vibration acceleration, velocity and displacement on rotating machinery in accordance with ISO 10816 (severity parameters for motors, pumps and fans). Vibration analysers incorporate real-time FFT processing to identify spectral components associated with bearing faults (BPFO/BPFI/BSF/FTF frequencies), unbalance, misalignment and mechanical looseness, enabling predictive maintenance programmes. Class 1 (laboratory) and class 2 (field) sound level meters measure sound level in dB(A) and dB(C) for environmental acoustics (Italian Legislative Decree 42/2017, UNI 11143) and occupational acoustics (Italian Legislative Decree 81/2008, ISO 9612), with A/C/Z weighting filters and real-time analysis.
Categories brought together
This section covers UT flaw detectors for welds and metallic materials, wet sponge and high-voltage holiday detectors for pores and discontinuities in coatings, gloss meters for paint and surface gloss, industrial colour sensors for in-line inspection, portable and benchtop spectrophotometers and colorimeters, lux meters and UV meters for lighting and radiation, class 1 and class 2 sound level meters, portable vibration meters for rotating machinery, FFT analysers for advanced diagnostics, and auxiliary appearance tests (dust tape test, cross-cut, pencil hardness).
Reference standards
NDT: ISO 9712 (personnel qualification), ISO 17640 (UT of welds), ASTM E164 (contact UT), NACE SP0188 (holiday detection). Colour: ISO 11664, ASTM E308. Gloss: ISO 2813, ASTM D523, ASTM D2457 (high gloss). Lighting: UNI EN 12464-1, IEC 61672 (sound level meters). Vibration: ISO 10816 (severity), ISO 7919 (rotating shafts), ISO 13373 (condition-based maintenance). Noise: IEC 61672, ISO 9612, Italian Legislative Decree 81/2008. Periodic calibration to ISO 17025 with dedicated standards for each quantity.
Selection criteria
The choice of instrument depends on the quantity of interest, the measuring range, the accuracy required by the applicable standard, the need for integration with reporting and asset management software, and on portability or in-line integration. The child pages develop each technology with application details.
You must be logged in to post a comment.