the krautkramer story

8/10/2019 The Krautkramer story

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19/10/2014 NDT | Non-destructive Testing - The Krautkrmer Story

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Starting off

The Krautkrmer brothers are

increasingly traveling around in order to

demonstrate the usefulness of their

development on site. And it works: it is

possible to use ultrasonics to show

whether there are material flaws inside a

component or not.Every time a

component is identified as defective using

ultrasonics, the defect becomes a fact

when the workpiece is subsequently cut

open and another step towards

convincing people has been taken.

Sometimes there are discussions as towhether an expensive component should really be destroyed in order to confirm the defect, sometimes it takes

hours until the component breaks apart ; but the tests are always successful. The ultrasonic nstruments are

being continuously improved along with the experiences gathered in the field; orders also start to come in slowly

but continuously. From January 1951 onward, all engines belonging to German Rail are tested using

Krautkrmer equipment; a number of more or less important cracks are detected in the axles in this

Connection. Express train services can now be continued without risks thanks to ultrasonic testing.

Most important milestone : DGS (AVG diagrams)

It was pioneering in the sense that it was a completely new technology,

relatively unknown in industry and often referred to as a black art. In

those early years a demonstration of the equipment at a potential

customer, had to start with an explanation of ultrasound, piezoelectricity

and the two axes of an oscilloscope, before showing its capacity on some

faulty specimens. In December 1959, Josef Krautkrmer went to theinstitute of Physics in London, where he gave the f irst representation of

his paper on the DGS(AVG) diagrams for the variation of amplitude with

distance from disc shaped reflectors. The amplitude was measured for the first time in Decibels and this was

also the introduction of the calibrated attenuator to ultrasonic testing. This original work took the black art out

of echo amplitude and gave ultrasonic testing a clear amplitude reference unit which was adopted immediately

by all the workers in this field. This was the most important milestone we have seen in the history of ultrasonic

testing.

Smooth transition:

In the early 50s, the inspection of welds was already a matter of great interest to the industry. Welds always

were and still are something that cause problems, for example in the individual components of chemical and

power plants, and also in tank construction, shipbuilding and bridge construction. Inspection of welds was

already prescribed in those days due to the obvious safety relevance. The new ly appeared ultrasonic method

stepped beside the previously used radiographic method and complemented it as it could be carried out faster

and without expenditure for ray protection. For the Krautkrmer brothers as pioneers in the field of ultrasonic

testing, weld testing was of course something they took up at once: in 1952, a U SIP 5 was already used for

testing the large-diameter, longitudinally welded pressure pipes of the Schluchsee power plant in the Black

Forest.

Though laid on thick: just the remaining wall thicknesses


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The first ultrasonic gauge, exclusively meant for measuring wall

thicknesses, was developed by Krautkrmer in 1967. The wall thickness

measurement became especially important for example on pipelines

operated by refineries in terms of safeguarding environmental

protection. A reduction of the wall thicknesses, for example due to

corrosion, can lead to disastrous damages and accidents here. The

ultrasonic method has the special advantage of allowing the wall

thickness measurement to be carried out on objects which are only

accessible from one side. Wall thicknesses which are too low can be

detected in good time using systematic ultrasonic checks. In addition,

downtimes and consequently also cost and time expenditure can be

reduced. Thickness measurements are carried out on various test

objects subject to wear: pressure vessels, gas cylinders, storage tanks,

receptacles for chemical processes, material handling systems and

pumps, facilities in shipbuilding and str uctural steelwork.

When the D-Meterthickness gauge, no bigger than a camera, was

introduced by Krautkrmer in 1971, it signified a spectacular

improvement. It was spectacular because it was important in connection

with plant supervision tasks, for example w ithin the chemical industry,

that small and lightweight equipment be available for the

comprehensive climbing exercises. The latest Krautkrmer thickness

gauges only weigh around 250 grams, and they offer even more

advantages. For example, they enable precision wall thickness

measurements even through coatings, without having to remove the

coating first.

Branson and Krautkrmer unite

In 1946, Norman Branson and Peter Bloch formed the Branson Instruments Company and began

manufacturing an ultrasonic thickness-gauging instrument known as the Audigage. These early units used

ultrasonic resonance techniques to measure work piece thickness from one side. They wer e built in the

companys first location, a two- car garage in Danbury, Connecticut.

Along with their NDT product line, Branson Instruments developed products for medical applications. Bransons

efforts were joined with those of Smith Kline & French Laboratories, one of the largest U.S. manufacturers of

pharmaceutical products at that time. In 1964, Smith Kline & French took over Branson Instruments.

In 1970, Branson Instruments acquired Aerotech Laboratories. Aerotech Laboratories had begun in the

basement of a Strodes Mills, PA home in 1969, and moved to the Mifflin County Industr ial Park in Lewistown

about a year later. Their product line included transducers for industrial and medical applications. Aerotechs

highly damped ultrasonic probes with improved resolution promised to strengthen Bransons product line.

In 1949, Dr. Josef and Herbert Krautkrmer developed the first German ultrasonic flaw detector. Their

instrument operated according to the pulse-echo method, which not only detected flaws existing inside the

material being tested, but also determined their position. This first Krautkrmer flaw detector was suitable for

testing forgings, axles and plates.

Krautkrmer established offices in Belgium and France as early as 1951. Mor e offices in countries around the

globe were added in the following years. By 1953, Krautkrmer had developed devices for weld testing and

quantitative flaw location, as well as the first testing machines for rails, tubes, and plates.

In 1960, the first tube-testing machine equipped with rotating probes went into service. Two years later, the

first, and for many years the smallest and lightest all-transistorized, battery-operated instrument, the USK4,

was developed. The USE1, designed primar ily for automatic testing systems, consisted of 20 interchangeable

modules, and was launched in 1969.

In 1972, Branson Instruments merged with Krautkrmer GmbH of Kln, West Germany, now operating in

Hrth on the outskirts of Kln, establishing Krautkramer Branson as the worlds largest manufacturer of

ultrasonic testing equipment. Research and development projects were coordinated, and technical consulting

and sales networks operating worldwide were brought under centralized management control.

In 1984, the St. Louis based Emerson Electric Company purchased Krautkramer Branson as a wholly owned

subsidiary. As part of Emerson, Krautkramer, (the trade name we market to the world), continued to grow in

terms of products and technology for worldwide industrial and medical markets.

In 1991 Krautkramer purchased 50% of Hocking NDT allowing it to enter the Eddy Current market.

In June 2000, the Agfa-Gevaert Group (AGFA), Mortsel, Belgium acquired the entire worldwide Krautkramer

business from Emerson Electric Co. Agfa Non-Destructive Testing Business Group's emphasis on non-

destructive testing provides growth opportunities for Krautkramer because of the strategic importance of

NDT in Agfa's business portfolio.

In 2004, the AGFA NDT portfolio was acquired then by GE Inspection Technologies, now GE Measurement

& Control Solutions, member of the GE family of companies. Founded by Thomas Edison in 1878 as theEdison Electric Co., GE is recognized worldwide for excellence, innovation and imagination for numerous

products and services spanning a wide breadth of industries.


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