Latest inspection technology added to rental fleet

Steve Drake, Ashtead’s NDT market manager, comments: "This is important news for maintenance and inspection engineers. Visual inspection is all about image quality and the IPLEX GX offers new levels of capability with a larger touchscreen display, 30% brighter LED light and sophisticated noise reduction algorithm to make it easier to identify defects in darker areas.”

Recording 60 frames per second, the instrument generates smooth, crisp video, without the blurring that can hamper flaw detection. Critical moments in recorded video can be bookmarked, and still images captured with the push of a button, without interrupting the recording.

Stereo measurement capability is included to enable the sizing of objects or defects using precise three-dimensional coordinates. The instrument is provided with Olympus Inspection Assist software, which streamlines the process from inspection to report generation, improving efficiency.

With many years of experience, the Olympus development team has added a number of features to make the device easier to operate. For example, responsive ‘TrueFeel’ articulation makes it easy to control the scope’s tip with precise movement, and to stay in position with locking capability. This light touch control helps minimise fatigue when working for extended periods. The inspection tip is extremely flexible and has grooves which use capillary action to draw oil and other contaminants away from the lens.

The IPLEX GX is a lightweight, rugged, battery powered (150 mins) videoscope designed for operation in harsh industrial environments such as engine or turbine inspection. However, Drake says: “These instruments are often rented for other applications where users need to look inside spaces that are difficult to access, and customers have included film companies, building investigators and archaeologists, for example.”