The system used for the inspection is an ultrasonic inspection tank, or CUB (Complete Ultrasonic Basin) unit. Tektrend’s CUB systems are custom designed and built to answer specific requirements. CUB systems range in size from small tabletop devices for laboratory environments to large multi-axis systems for industrial applications. CUB system specifications vary from one application to another, and are affected by such factors as the surrounding environment and the types of parts to be inspected. There are two Tektrend CUBs in operation at the NRC testing facility.
The Mobile Servicing System (MSS), which includes the Canadarm2, is essential to the construction of the International Space Station, to many Station operations and to the maintenance of the Station throughout its service life. The NDE testing performed through the NRC was just one phase of the extensive testing involved in ensuring that the Canadarm2 was ready for liftoff.
Tektrend is a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) solutions. Non-Destructive Evaluation is the art of testing something without destroying it in the process. NDE allows the inspector to test every piece instead of relying on a random sample – and years of research and development in the field have produced several advanced technologies that can test materials for every imaginable defect.
Ultrasonic inspection is one of the most popular methods of non-destructive evaluation. This efficient method of inspection uses high- frequency sound waves to detect anomalies in a wide range of materials, such as aluminum, steel and composite. Ultrasonic immersion testing is performed to detect anomalies such as cracks, damage in composite materials, subsurface bubbles and corrosion.
Tektrend has been involved in NDE for over 25 years. Recently, Tektrend has enjoyed tremendous growth, more than tripling its workforce in the last five years. In order to accommodate the expanded personnel and to give the company the space required to assemble and operate its larger NDE systems.
The new facility in Dollard-des-Ormeaux was officially opened on Wednesday, April 25th . Among the guests were federal MP Bernard Patry and Dollard mayor Edward Janiszewski. Company owners Michel Brassard, Ahmad Chahbaz and André Pelletier officially cut the.ribbon to open the new facility. Tektrend’s 35 employees and several of the company’s key partners and financial backers were also on hand.
Tektrend’s innovative R&D team is continually taking groundbreaking steps into ultrasonic guided waves, materials engineering and new scanner and transducer technologies. The primary activity of the company is the design and implementation of custom inspection solutions for a wide variety of applications.
Aside from Tektrend’s various university projects, the company’s most important research and development partner is Canada’s National Research Council. Over the last decade, Tektrend and the NRC have worked together on several projects, including research into pulsed eddy current inspection and the soon-to-be-introduced Edge-of-Light visual inspection tool. The two have also collaborated on S3 , Smart Sensory Structures, with the support of PRECARN.
S3 is one of the NDE tools Tektrend and its R&D partners intend to implement in space applications, including the International Space Station (ISS). These techniques would complement existing monitoring systems that assure the safety of the ISS crew. Tektrend’s North American client base ranges from aerospace to manufacturing, utility and process industry facilities, from government organizations to university research laboratories. Some of the most respected corporations and institutions make up the current list of clients, including Bombardier, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Honeywell, various departments within the US military, the Canadian Department of National Defense, the National Research Council of Canada, and Reynolds Metals.
Tektrend’s success and growth as a small company in Quebec is representative of the strong Canadian economy, and of the promise of high technology as one of the most important areas of development as Canada enters the 21 st century. The inauguration of Tektrend’s new facility is a significant event that appropriately symbolizes the company’s success and the promise of continued prosperity.
Learn more about Tektrend at www.tektrend.com
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