TPT January 2013

Inspection, measuring and

testing

Service ensures welds are fit for purpose

UKAS-accredited for weldment testing and certification across a growing list of professional specifications, including relevant commercial BS EN ISO and ASTM standards and aerospace primes like BAE, Rolls Royce, Westland Helicopters, Airbus, Bombardier and the CAA, with the final assessment process now underway for NADCAP approval. The team is familiar with testing weld coupons only millimetres thick in titanium, aluminium, nickel and cobalt alloys and other exotic metals for aerospace fabricators, as well as carbon steel and stainless steel test plates several inches thick for commercial welders and manufacturers. It covers all forms of welded joint, including butt or groove welds, fillets, lap, edge and tee joints, corners and cruciform, both plate- to-plate and tube-to-tube in similar or dissimilar materials, which are produced using all manual and automated welding methods, from stick and oxy-acetylene techniques, to TIG, MIG, MAG and plasma arc, even brazing and soldering. Keighley Laboratories Ltd – UK Email: info@keighleylabs.co.uk Website: www.keighleylabs.co.uk

inspection service, including welding procedure consultancy and approval, welder qualification tests, on-site weld investigation and, through its newly- upgraded Test House, a complete range of destructive, non-destructive and metallography testing facilities. Under the direction of divisional technical services director Matthew Mellor, the weld test and inspection team’s resources are broadly divided between the specialist aerospace field, led by Peter Hanson, and general commercial welding, headed by Jeremy Duignan, both of whom are fully qualified metallurgists. Mr Mellor, Mr Hanson, and technical director Keith Blower are also approved by the Civil Aviation Authority as weld specimen supervisors, able to witness and verify critical aircraft-related welding on the authority’s behalf and invigilate at customer sites. Keighley Labs is

USUALLY regarded as the most economical way of joining two or more metal components, in terms of fabrication costs and materials usage, welding technology is central to many engineering and manufacturing processes, from producing wings and fuselages in the aerospace industry and platforms and pipelines in the energy and petrochemicals sector, to automotive and rail components, white goods and metal furniture. Since these welded joints are subject to various loads and fatigue during their service life, possibly giving rise to safety and quality issues, it is vital that rigorous testing and inspection procedures are applied, to examine the structure of completed welds and their conformation to specification, as well as determining the skill levels of the welding operators. UK-based Keighley Laboratories offers a comprehensive weld testing and

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J anuary 2013