Sophisticated Inspection Techniques
Ensure High Quality
An extensive repertoire of diagnostic techniques enables Bosch researchers to subject components and materials to the most thorough testing imaginable.Like medical doctors, they look beneath their test subject’s skin using ultrasound,computed tomography (CT) and X-rays.
Reaching the development goal of zerodefect quality sometimes requires the use of inspection procedures such as random sampling and 100-percent inline inspection during production. This means that techniques such as ultrasound, eddy-current, optical and X-ray inspection must be integrated into the production line to assure the quality of each manufactured component. No defective part slips through this test grid. Such an inspection process must be absolutely reliable, of course, so researchers select those methods, which are best suited for each process step and establish the respective optimum out of precision, speed and cost for the various component tests during production.
Even as early as the product development stage, researchers must identify which parameters are critical for long product life and prepare any needed test techniques. Engineers use modern techniques like computer tomography to measure ever smaller tolerances in the holes of an automotive injection nozzle. Or they check to ensure that welding seams are flawless, and that no pores exist in the wrong places on the surface. Here, as in real life, true perfection must be more than skin-deep.
Even as early as the product development stage, researchers must identify which parameters are critical for long product life and prepare any needed test techniques. Engineers use modern techniques like computer tomography to measure ever smaller tolerances in the holes of an automotive injection nozzle. Or they check to ensure that welding seams are flawless, and that no pores exist in the wrong places on the surface. Here, as in real life, true perfection must be more than skin-deep.
Researchers use a CT system to examine the six injection holes of a diesel injector, which are located in the marked area of the nozzle tip (inset upper right). Color values in the resulting image reveal the permissible deviations of the finished component from the ideal geometry.
