Your inspection is only as good as your material handling. You can invest in advanced non-destructive testing solutions, but without proper part control, positioning, and motion, even the best NDT technology will struggle to deliver consistent results.
By integrating automated or custom turnkey solutions directly into the production line, you can ensure every part is inspected at production speed and with repeatable accuracy. Automation reduces the variability that comes with manual handling, minimizes operator influence, and creates a stable inspection environment that performs reliably shift after shift.
That’s where turnkey automation and machine-building expertise become just as critical as the inspection method itself. Take the next step. Integrate these solutions into your operation to drive quality and reliability forward.
Eddy current and other NDT methods are proven, reliable inspection technologies. The challenge is not whether they work; the challenge is whether they can work consistently within a fast-moving production environment.
When inspection is added to a line without being engineered as part of the overall process, problems tend to surface quickly. Let’s explore the most common challenges that can be solved using automated NDT solutions.
Inconsistent part positioning
Manual loading or poorly controlled infeed systems introduce variation. Small changes in alignment, lift-off, or orientation can have a direct impact on inspection repeatability and detection reliability.
Throughput limitations
Inspection systems that are not designed for line-rate operation struggle to keep up with production. This often results in bottlenecks, reduced sensitivity, or pressure to loosen inspection thresholds just to maintain output.
Complex part geometries
Components with contours, features, or varying shapes are difficult to inspect consistently without controlled motion. Maintaining proper probe orientation and coverage becomes a constant challenge.
Unreliable sorting and flow control
Separating acceptable parts from rejects requires precise timing and coordination. Without integrated handling and sorting, errors increase, and downstream operations are disrupted.
Limited flexibility and uptime
Frequent part changes, slow changeovers, and poor service access reduce system availability. Over time, these issues impact productivity, inspection confidence, and return on investment.
Automated NDT is most effective when inspection, material handling, and production requirements are engineered together from the start.
When you partner with FOERSTER, you get more than an NDT equipment or sensor provider. We work closely with our customers to design and deliver turnkey automated inspection systems, built in the United States and engineered to perform in real manufacturing environments.
Our turnkey systems bring together:
This work is anchored by our automation facility in Salem, Ohio, where all mechanical, electrical, and programming engineering is handled in-house. Designing inspection, automation, and controls under one roof helps eliminate integration gaps and ensures systems perform as intended on the production floor.
By keeping these disciplines aligned from the start, we reduce integration risk, shorten development cycles, and make sure design decisions support both inspection performance and production demands.
Before any system is built, our applications laboratory plays a critical role in validating inspection performance. Using customer-provided parts whenever possible, we conduct application studies to confirm that specific defects can be detected on the actual material or component. This allows customers to see real results early and ensures systems are designed around proven capability rather than assumptions.
Once a project moves forward, execution is managed by an experienced project management team using ISO-controlled processes. Scope, timelines, and performance requirements are clearly defined and tracked throughout the project lifecycle; ensuring systems are delivered as specified, commissioned properly, and supported reliably long after installation.
Automated NDT is most effective when inspection technology, material handling, and automation are engineered together. As production demands increase, systems that treat inspection as a standalone function often struggle with consistency, throughput, and long-term reliability.
When evaluating an NDT provider, consider the full system. Important questions to ask include:
FOERSTER helps manufacturers answer these questions through application studies, in-house engineering, and turnkey automation built around real production conditions. By addressing inspection and automation together from the start, you can move forward with confidence and build inspection systems that perform reliably, shift after shift.