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High voltage microfocus CT for inspection of dense & complex parts


CT is accurate and reliable for measuring internal and external dimensions simultaneously, without destroying the part. The insight it provides through the additional fourth dimension of material density makes it the must-have tool for quality and production departments. High voltage microfocus CT offers the same capabilities for measuring large parts and penetrating dense materials. It opens new CT applications for turbine blades, aluminium castings and many other sizable parts.





In-house X-ray sources at the core of CT




Find out more about Nikon's unique in-house designed and built X-ray sources.


The need for high voltage microfocus CT


Many system suppliers only offer microfocus sources up to 225kV, while more powerful sources in their offerings are minifocus. Minifocus sources produce more X-ray flux, which is great, but the spot size of these minifocus sources is orders of magnitude bigger compared to microfocus sources, heavily reducing the accuracy of the data. Don’t be mistaken: you need a microfocus source to acquire accurate and detailed CT data for most high-accuracy industrial CT applications, and a supplier’s spec sheet might not distinguish between the two types of sources. The standard 450 kV microfocus source features a spot size of 80 to 320 µm depending on the power, 3 to 8 times smaller than corresponding minifocus sources, providing industry leading performance for inspection of small high density parts or aluminium castings with unrivaled accuracy and resolution. Thanks to its open-tube design with  user-replaceable filaments, the source has a virtually unlimited lifetime with a very low maintenance cost.

For most demanding applications, the high-brilliance version utilizing a rotating target delivers 450 W continuous power, without any measurement time restriction, whilst maintaining a smaller spot size of 80 to 113 micron depending on the power, up to 10 times better than a minifocus source. Compared to the standard source, the high-brilliance version allows data to be collected faster, typically 3-5x, for a given spot size and power. Alternatively for a given power or measurement time, the available resolution will be higher so the data quality is improved.

Find out more about Nikon's high voltage microfocus XT H 450.



Read the full case study.