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The bricking machine holds the refractory bricks firmly against the furnace shell and aligns the brickwork to avoid catastrophic failure. This also avoids falling debris and other dangers throughout the bricking process, which reduces the chance of injury.
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  1. Testing/QC

NDT Inspection of Dense Cast Parts

July 24, 2014
Computed tomography is transforming non-destructive testing for critical parts, like automotive turbochargers for BorgWarner .

Turbochargers for automotive engines must be free of porosity and inclusions in order to meet the high-performance standards and reduce exhaust gases. A turbocharger assembly usually consists of two parts, a wheel and a housing.  The turbine wheel is set within the turbine housing to absorbe energy from the exhaust gases and transmit it mechanically it to a compressor via a shaft.

The turbine wheel may turn at 160,000 to 300,000 rpm. In a spark-ignition engine, exhaust gas temperatures of up to 1,050°C must be endured in the area of the turbine housing. The turbine wheel, a bypass flap and a heat shield may reach similar temperatures.

BorgWarner produces turbochargers at a plant in Poland, and adopted a microfocus computed tomography (CT) system developed by Nikon Metrology to improve its R&D and quality control of cast iron turbochargers for passenger cars, light trucks, and commercial vehicles. The 450-kV X-ray equipment penetrates dense materials needed in cast products of this type, allowing the internal structure and quality to be inspected non-destructively.