Tag Archive for: Fiberglass ultrasonic thickness gauge

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Quality Control in Oil & Gas with Inox Tech Spa

The Oil & Gas sector requires technologically advanced products, capable of operating in difficult environmental and climatic conditions. At the same time, when storing hazardous substances, preventive actions must be taken to reduce the risk of leaks. This certainly includes quality control procedures for Oil & Gas.

For example, tank corrosion can cause environmental contamination due to leaks. Based on this premise, each manufacturer must take care to inspect, service and calibrate their quality control equipment.

We are proud to be able to talk about one of our customers, who is a leading producer of welded pipes in the Oil & Gas market.

Quality control of welded tubes: Inox Tech Spa

Inox Tech S.p.A produces welded pipes (SAWL) in corrosion-resistant metal alloys (CRA). This Italian company, based in Lendinara was founded in 1989 and has evolved and specialized as a manufacturer and focuses on LNG, refineries and submarine applications with the highest quality standards, guaranteeing flexibility, reliability and effectiveness to all it’s customers.

Their main production line consists of thick welded tubes, with external diameters that can reach up to 110”, and with wall thicknesses of up to 70 mm. In addition to this particular line, they create solutions of smaller dimensions and thinner thicknesses, starting from an external diameter of 6”and wall thickness of 4 mm.

These pipes are mass-produced thanks to their recently renovated factory and first-rate technologies, which allows Inox Tech to reach a production capacity of 30,000 tons a year. The products obtained are only of the highest level, thanks to their API certification with the 3 monograms (API 5L, 5LC and 5LD), an ISO 9001 certified quality system, and various awards received from the most important companies in Oil & Gas such as: ExxonMobil, Shell, Total, and Saudi Aramco.

The internal laboratory guarantees high quality standards

In addition to the certifications mentioned above, the Inox Tech plant is equipped with a quality system and related equipment that allows them to check the characteristics of the materials, the quality of the welds, to ensure compliance with the regulations and above all, to guarantee the highest quality products.

It also collaborates with an independant accredited laboratory, which is located inside its own factory. This allows them to perform the destructive tests on the materials required “in house” to verify the chemical and mechanical properties.

Destructive Control

The destructive tests that are usually required for their products include:

Product / Chemical analysis
Pull tests at hot and room temperature
Crease tests
Impact tests to -196 ° C
Hardness tests
Standard corrosion tests (G48, G28, etc.)
Drop Weight Tear tests (DWTT)
Hydrogen Induced Cracking tests (HIC)
Sulphide Stress Cracking tests (SSC)

Non-destructive Control NDT

While the non-destructive tests carried out entirely by their internal personnel include:

Penetrating liquids
Manual ultrasound tests
Radiography (traditional and digital X-rays)
Magnetic detectors
Positive Material Identification tests (PMI)

The stages of quality control at Inox Tech

We have already mentioned that Inox Tech is equipped with a certified quality system for all equipment and tools which therefore allows all quality control tests to be carried out internally.

Based on the test performed and what needs to be determined, quality control can be performed at every stage of the manufacturing process.

For example, if the goal is to determine the quality of raw materials, the test can be performed upon receiving the goods from suppliers. The welds can be verified as soon as they are completed, while the quality of the tube can be tested, as soon as it leaves the production line.

Having your own equipment and tools is a significant advantage, as it makes the company’s quality control system very efficient. Inox Tech also needs high-level quality control tools to make sure that all controls and inspections are accurate and reliable.

5 measuring and control instruments for the Oil & Gas sector

Inox Tech relies on SAMA Tools as a trusted partner and supplier of quality control tools to guarantee highly accurate and reliable results.

We offer them and all our customers, high quality control and measurement instruments, such as:

1. High quality carbon fiber digital caliper – SAM039

A great measuring tool to check geometric dimensions. The fact that it is made of carbon fiber makes it very light and comfortable for the operator, while still being considerably sturdy.

SAM039

2. Portable surface roughness tester – SA6220

Surface roughness is essential to check the quality of the pipes. Portable roughness meters allow you to do this both on the production line and in the laboratory.

SA6220

3. Precision ultrasonic thickness gauge – SAUT160

A professional tool to determine the wall thickness of pipes made by Inox Tech. The materials in question are Stainless Steel, Duplex, Super Duplex, Nickel Alloys, SS 6Mo, Carbon Steel and Low Alloy Steel.

SAUT 160

4. Through coating ultrasonic thickness gauge with software included – SAUT310D-SW

Because they are exposed to highly abrasive and corrosive environments, oil and gas pipes are generally protected by coatings and paints. This ultrasonic thickness gauge is able to work in “through paints” mode to detect the thickness of the underlying material.

SAUT 310D-SW

5. LED industrial viewer – SANEG-300/16

The industrial LED X-ray film viewer is essential for radiographic analysis, as it provides a reduction in energy in the form of heat, uniform light and superior durability while minimizing maintenance costs.

SANEG-300/16

Why choose SAMA Tools for your quality control?

Thanks to the ISO-9001 certified quality system, all SAMA Tools instruments are rigorously checked and inspected from the initial phases up to when it’s shipped to the customer. Furthermore, upon request, the instruments can be accompanied with a calibration report with reference to primary samples or by an ACCREDIA certificate.

In addition to the constant work of checking and inspecting our equipment, we are keen to assist our customers with the installation and during the first measurements, to accompany them throughout the most delicate phases of their tests. All-round technical assistance is our mission. This way, Inox Tech and all our customers, can learn concepts that go far beyond the simple reading of a manual.

The win-win strategy

A more personal collaboration, guided by mutual trust, makes work more enjoyable and helps to build a win-win relationship.

The strategy of winning together is a way of thinking and acting that leads us and our customers to build a sincere bond.

This is exactly what happened with Inox Tech. Thanks to the kindness of their staff, we consider them as our special clients. Even though the ultimate commercial goal of any company continues to be the sale, this cannot be seen as a mere exchange of money.

The approach of S.A.M.A. Italia to the client is consultative. Therefore, we want to convey the value of the solutions we offer. We do this by placing the customer at the center of every conversation.

Closing thoughts

As you may have understood, our mission is to make customers reach high quality standards and we are really proud of our collaborative relationship that we’ve created over the years together with Inox Tech S.p.A.

Here you can find feedback from the many customers who have chosen us and we hope that you can soon become one of them, too.

Therefore, if you need help in choosing the best measuring instruments for your specific needs, and / or you need calibration reports (even on instruments of other brands), do not hesitate to contact our technical department.

You can call us at +39 0584/392342 – 0584/392453 or if you prefer, you can contact us in writing at sales@samatools.it.

4 November 2022/by SamaTools

Events

MECSPE: A Recap [Measuring and Calibration Instruments]

MECSPE fair in Bologna ended and we are truly grateful to all those who came out to see us.

It gave us the opportunity to display a selection of our measuring instruments and to discuss various measuring needs in person, without technological barriers.

This is the aspect we like most, meeting our loyal customers directly and creating new ones.

We listen to what the company produces, what results it would like to achieve, or what problems need to be resolved.

SAMA Tools name-brand measuring instruments were created to cater these needs, but we also think that the assistance our technicians are able to provide pre-purchase can really make the difference.

What animates our company are certainly the people who, if you came to the fair, you will have met, albeit partially, because others remained at our headquarters in Viareggio.

Measuring instruments at MECSPE

For the 2023 edition of MECSPE, we selected various types of tools, suitable to satisfy the needs of manufacturing companies in various sectors.

Automotive, Oil & Gas, Naval, Food, Industrial Painting, Molds etc.

Force Measure

The measure of force encloses all tests essential for the quality and resistance of a specific product.

The main force tests include:

traction,

compression,

torque.

These measuring instruments can be found in the section “Force measure”.

Measuring of the hardness of materials

When measuring the hardness of materials, we rely on portable or bench hardness testers.

There are different types of portable hardness testers, depending on the type of material or test to be carried out. They are mainly used to assess the hardness of the material for quality control in the production line and for the maintenance of structures and parts which are subject to wear.

These measuring instruments can be found in the section “Measuring the hardness of materials”.

Ultrasonic thickness measurement

To measure the thickness of a specific piece, the ultrasound technique is particularly recommended, as it allows you to measure a detail by simply placing the probe on it, without the need of any feedback from the opposite side.

In this case, the measuring instruments are the thickness gauges, which determine the thickness of a material by accurately calculating the time required by an ultrasonic pulse generated by the probe to pass through the thickness of the sample, which is reflected on the opposite surface and then returned to the probe.

Ultrasonic thickness gauges are ideal in the production phase, quality control, input control, PED inspections, material approval, output control and in all non-destructive tests where it is not possible to access both sides of measurement.

New Product! Fiberglass thickness gauge

In the photo: Fiberglass ultrasonic thickness gauge – SAUT6100D-SW

This new model, as seen in the photo, was first presented at MECSPE. It is a graphic ultrasonic thickness gauge for fiberglass and composite materials. If you were present at one of our demonstrations at the fair, you will have seen how easy it is to use and its great potential for various fields, like boating, automotive, Oil & Gas, etc.

To verify that this tool is suitable for every specific need, S.A.M.A. can carry out tests directly on samples provided by our customers or alternatively, our technicians can personally go to shipyards or other establishments and carry out tests on site. Other thickness gauges can be found in the sections:

Ultrasonic thickness measurement

Coating thickness measurement

In the photo: Rotational abrasion tester – SAAB523

Another highly appreciated measuring instrument was the Rotational abrasion tester, mainly used to determine the abrasion resistance performance of various coatings by rotational rubbing, or to determine the abrasion resistance of paper, plastic, fabric, decorations, etc.

The samples are placed on the rotary plate and then subjected to the action of abrasion by two abrasive wheels with a determined pressure. The abrasive action is obtained by rotating the sample, while two abrasive wheels rotate above it. The wheels complete a full turn on the surface of the sample which allows to check the abrasion resistance at all possible angles of that sample.

In the photo: Digital rotational viscometers – SAVISC152

The Digital rotational viscometer is ideal for testing the viscosity and resistance of a fluid.

The elegant model in the photo constantly controls the rotation speed and is widely utilized in chemical, medical, food, industrial, laboratory, scientific research fields, etc.

When an operator has to carry out the viscosity measurement in the laboratory, it is not always easy to identify the most suitable viscometer model. In these cases, our technicians are available to listen to each specific need and indicate the most appropriate solution.

This pre-sale consultancy service is free and allows us not only to concretely help our customers, but also to significantly reduce returns due to incorrect orders. Our philosophy is to always implement all preventive actions to avoid buying the wrong instrument.

Mechanical measuring instruments

The measuring instruments in our mechanical section are never lacking at the fairs we attend, since their use is extremely important and common in all manufacturing companies.

In photo: SAMA Tools micrometers and calipers

Mechanical measuring instruments can be found in the “Mechanical section”

Calibration of measuring instruments

At MECSPE, we also talked about our calibration services. Measuring and control instruments play a very important role within the production process of a company, such as guaranteeing the suitability of manufacturing products.

It is necessary that the instruments are efficient and remain within the tolerance range as dictated by the piece. It is therefore essential to calibrate all instruments, even the simplest ones.

In this regard there are often many uncertainties, and our customers ask us questions like these:

What does ISO 9001 say in detail regarding calibration?
Why is it important to calibrate measuring instruments?
When should the calibration be repeated?
How long should the instrument be used before it is subjected to calibration and certification?
What if the certification does not go well or has errors?
What if the measuring instrument cannot be certified?
Do I need a calibration report or Accredia certificate?
What are the differences between calibration and Accredia certificates?

If you also have these kinds of questions, firstly, we recommend that you subscribe to our newsletter because in addition to providing you with useful information on the various types of measurements, it allows you to immediately receive an ebook on the ABCs of calibration via email.

Instrument calibration is necessary and useful for many industrial sectors. Likewise, it is essential to have a solid intervention program to ensure minimal downtime.

S.A.M.A. Italia is ISO 9001 certified to provide calibration reports and collaborates with the best accredited centers for LAT / Accredia certificates.

If you want more details of the 3-day fair, follow us on Instagram. You will find photos and mini-videos of our name-brand SAMA Tools measuring instruments.

22 June 2022/by SamaTools