Industry applications

Scanning is common place across industry, from initial research and development of new products, through volume manufacture and quality control, to long term test and maintenance, and so on. Each sector has its own particular requirements of the scanning methodology (X-ray, CT, MRI) and the constituents and dimensions of the scanned subject, from minute electronic components and small plastic components, through to large engine parts and in some cases whole vehicles. Common to all is the need to view scans in detail, and in many cases to share those images interactively with co-workers in different locations. Disect satisfies all these needs. It is designed around international standards for scanner files and data sets and so can display images from any scanner regardless of its application. Furthermore, Disect's suite of image enhancement tools aids the analysis of particular artifacts of interest, for example, a micro-fracture in a machine part, inhomogeneity in the volume density of a critical component, and so on.

Electronics
The manufacture of electronic integrated circuits relies on the quality of the initial silicon crystal from which wafer-thin slices are cut, to be made into integrated circuits. Scanning is therefore vital at that initial stage to examine the integrity and flawlessness of the crystal to ensure maximum yield from manufacture. Further down the line when the integrated circuits are installed in consumer products and the like, scanning is again essential to ensure a consistent assembly and quality control. The images on the right are of a memory chip found in computers, and a USB memory stick.

Pharmaceutical
The pharmaceutical sector invests billions in developing new drugs and treatment regimes. Ensuring a good commercial return for that investment is essential and scanning plays a vital role in that. For example, during the volume manufacture of solid tablets or slow release drug capsules the relative proportions of the active and non-active constituents must be monitored and tightly controlled. The images on the right show how Disect can be used to sample tablets and drug capsules from a production line and highlight the constituents. Image analysis software can then be used in conjunction with Disect to quantify the ratio of active to non-active constituents and assess whether they meet the desired specification.

Food
The food sector is extremely broad and varied, as are its demands on the use of scanners in developing new food products and in managing quality control in volume manufacture. Scanner images are vital in determining the inner structure and constituent parts of food products non-invasively. For example, the cheese industry, depending on the particular brand of cheese and its pedigree, is concerned with monitoring the size and distribution of holes (called eyes) through each cheese. The image on the right shows how Disect fulfills that requirement, and can be employed at regular intervals through the maturing period. The constituents of interest need not be limited to just the consumable part(s) of the product but also the container and the seal/release mechanism if present, particularly for perishable products such as the container and lid of a tub of butter, and so on.

Other sectors

• Aero-space
• Auto-motive
• Plastics
• Various consumables

Further examples of Industry scans viewed in Disect are on display in our image gallery.