Cobra Scientific, LLC

With over 45 years of experience in Ultrasonic Transducer Design, Development, and Manufacturing experience, Cobra Scientific turns our vast knowledge and techniques to offer a New Way to perform Ultrasonic Transducer Certification… Virtually “Hands-Off”.

The New, Patent Pending, DocSys-3 Autonomous Ultrasonic NDT Transducer Certification Station is in use at several of the major transducer manufacturers around the world and with the input of some basic transducer features (such as size, frequency & focus, etc.) offers the ability to automatically locate the focal point, define transverse scan distances, run the scans and set up for the capture of up to 5 waveform and Spectrum images… 3D Mesh C-Scans of the Ultrasonic Beam Symmetry is Optionally available.

The heart of the DocSys-3  Inspection System is the custom-engineered,  MoCON-integrated Rack Mount Data Acquisition and Motion Control Unit featuring state of a state-of-the-art PC driving 2 user monitors.

The System Includes an Acrylic tank with ¾” thick walls mounted within a custom, rigid aluminum frame structure incorporating an area for storage underneath for shelter with an area for another user misc. materials.

Features include the ability to run “AutoScans” autonomously, allowing the system to find the focal point and define the transverse scan distances automatically or provide the ability to run ManScans at user-selectable manual scan positions and can run X-Axis, Z-Axis, or any orthogonal Transverse Profiles axis as defined by the user. The user can also allow the system to Auto Peak or can have the system move to position and pause to allow.

The user can define from 1 up to 10 transverse scan distances from the target, or, up to 20 for rectangular or cylindrical scans where ultrasonic beam length and beam width are different by way of transducer element geometry or focusing style (Cylindrical vs. Spherical). DocSys-3 will automatically provide the 3dB & 6 dB Measurements for each transverse scan. In addition, the system is supplied with a filtering system and water heating system which keeps the temperature constant and continuously monitors water temperature to adjust for velocity differences in software.

The Manual Swivel-Gimbal manipulator offers the user out-of-the-water manual positioning of the transducer in both rotational about the up-tube axis or Swivel axis as well as a gimbal axis pointing the probe up and down to the bottom of the tank. The Manipulator is available with several options for the Z-Axis drive.

Features:

• Manually positioned Z is accomplished by a knob where the user can raise or lower the manipulator in small increments, permitting fine positioning over a target
• DC Motor Powered Z axis permits a rapid Z Axis move via a side-mounted toggle switch for up and down. The user can rapidly to a position and then use the provided manual knob to refine the position. Limit switches are provided to avoid overdriving to either extent.
• Stepper Motor Driven Z provides programable Z-Axis moves at 0.0001” increments. This is an ideal manipulator for users who currently have an X-Y immersion tank.
• The Swivel Axis is 270 Degrees above the Tube Axis
• Gimbal Axis is plus and minus 100 Degrees from the bottom.
• A Quick Swivel mount is available as an option, permitting the user to quickly swivel the manipulator out of the tank for a quick change of transducer (Transducer manufacturers find this particularly useful) as well as minimize needless in-water storage.
• 1” Diameter Up-Tube assembly assures a rigid mount, minimizing the effects of vibration.

The standard Length of the Up-Tube is 18” with a travel of 12” top to bottom. Other lengths are available optionally.

The MGG-BL-220 Triple Sealed, Powered Underwater Manipulator represents the latest in State-of-the-Art Design and Power. All housing components are machined from billet Titanium to minimize the manipulator’s overall weight to 3 lbs.

Primary Drive is provided by an ultra-smooth running BLDC virtually eliminating movement resonance, often found in Stepper Motor Driven units. Input control sources supported are both Servo offering Hall and Encoder outputs as well as Stepper (via separate Cobra MoCON Drive Converter), and can therefore be retrofitted into virtually any in-situ inspection system with a simple recalibration of motion and moves.

The MGG-BL-220 also features a safety breakaway incorporating a switch which can be used as an E-Stop to the system to minimize damage on an unintended programmatic collision.

The transducer Standard UHF connector can support loads up to 1LB, offering the ability to move 90 degrees within 1.5 seconds even with an adapted PA probe or Multi-Probe Mounting

Cobra Scientific manufactures a wide range of accessories for your inspection requirements or, we can fabricate varied fixtures or interconnects per your specific requirements.

As an example, a customer came to us looking for a flexible Delay interface for their Phased Array Probe and wanted an encoder integrated. Such a fixture was not available from the PA Probe OEM.