BliXray brings MeV CT to missile, naval and combat-air component production

BliXray is offering its BLCT-LINACLAB linear-accelerator CT system to the missile, naval and combat-air component plants now expanding across the West, scanning thick, dense castings, forgings and welded assemblies in one piece instead of by destructive sectioning.

The BLCT-LINACLAB replaces the conventional X-ray tube with a megavolt-class electron linear accelerator. The higher photon energy reaches through far more steel than kilovolt sources can manage – up to 380 mm at 9 MeV – and the system accepts parts measured in metres rather than centimetres. Complete motor cases, heavy structural castings and assembled modules are loaded and scanned whole.

Penetration beyond conventional X-ray sources

Penetration, not resolution, is the hard limit on dense-part CT. Conventional radiography collapses a three-dimensional flaw into a shadow, and the heaviest sections stop kilovolt energies altogether. With 2, 4, 6 and 9 MeV, the BLCT-LINACLAB resolves what is happening inside a thick steel section: internal porosity, cracks and inclusions in solid motor sections, thick welds and large castings that would otherwise be cut open.

The system matches its output to the task. A high dose rate of up to 4500 cGy per minute at one metre keeps exposure and scan times workable on heavy parts, where throughput depends on how quickly enough photons can be driven through the material. For the thickest, densest sections a collimated line detector – pixel pitch 0.2 or 0.4 mm, post-collimator adjustable from 0.15 to 5 mm – rejects the scattered radiation that would otherwise wash out the image, preserving the density contrast that reveals a subsurface void or a line of inclusions.

Key features of the BLCT-LINACLAB

• Megavolt source: an electron linear accelerator with 2, 4, 6 and 9 MeV, for steel penetration of 200 to 380 mm and dense assembled modules.
• Collimated line detector: scatter rejection on the thickest sections, preserving density contrast.
• Large-area, high-energy flat-panel detector: 4000 × 4570 pixels at 139 µm, so big parts are captured in fewer projections.
• Stable imaging chain: a focus–detector distance of up to 4000 mm and a six-axis manipulator on a granite or cast-iron base, for measurement-grade data.
• Parts up to 2700 × 1400 mm on the manipulator, scan volumes up to ø720 × 2600 mm: complete components inspected in a single set-up.

Whole components, not coupons

Most CT systems top out well below the size of a complete missile section, a naval casting or a full structural assembly. The BLCT-LINACLAB is built the other way round: it accepts an entire component in a single set-up and inspects it whole, rather than sampled or reduced to test coupons. The result is a full three-dimensional record of the part, usable both for pass-or-fail inspection and for comparison against the design geometry. A production quality team gains one volumetric inspection per part, filed against the component, in place of a radiograph and a sectioned sample.

“The BLCT-LINACLAB gives a complete volumetric picture of a part that a conventional X-ray source cannot see through,” says Adrian de Riz, Managing Director, BliXray Technologies GmbH. “Being able to scan the whole part, not a cut-out, is what changes the conversation for a production quality team.”

Suited to motor cases, castings and welded structures

The BLCT-LINACLAB is particularly suitable for the densest and thickest safety-critical parts in missile, naval and combat-air production: solid motor sections and complete motor cases, heavy structural castings and forgings, thick welded assemblies and naval structures, and assembled modules inspected as built. For each of these the system delivers proof of freedom from internal porosity, cracks and inclusions on the whole part, on a defined scan path, with the same data retained for dimensional comparison.

Test scans available

BliXray offers test scans of customer parts and support with site and cell planning for defence and security production. Contact Adrian de Riz, Managing Director, BliXray Technologies GmbH, a.deriz@blix-ray.de, +49 1578 0477753 – www.blix-ray.de.

About BliXray – BliXray Technologies GmbH, Hannover, designs and builds industrial CT systems and X-ray safety cabinets. Manufacturers in defence, aerospace and research use BliXray CT to inspect safety-critical parts without destroying them. BliXray cabinets and containers house X-ray sources up to 300 kV at a protection level of 0.5 µSv/h.