Digital portable magentic particle tester
A digital portable magnetic particle tester (MPT) for performing magnetic particle inspection includes a yoke body providing a handle, a pair of poles extending from the yoke body and operable to induce a magnetic field for magnetizing a test object, a camera mounted to the yoke body between the pair of poles and operable to photograph a surface of the test object, a smart digital processor positioned within the yoke body and operable to determine a location of the MPT, a digital screen that receives test information, a slot defined in the yoke body and sized to receive a removable flash memory card, and an antenna. The removable flash memory card is operable to store, and the antenna to transmit to a remote device via a network, the test information, one or more photographs or video of the surface of the test object, and the location of the MPT.
1 . A digital portable magnetic particle tester (MPT) for performing magnetic particle inspection comprising:
a yoke body providing a handle;
a pair of poles extending from the yoke body and operable to induce a magnetic field for magnetizing a test object;
a camera mounted to the yoke body between the pair of poles and operable to photograph a surface of the test object once magnetized by the pair of poles;
a smart digital processor positioned within the yoke body and operable to determine a location of the MPT;
a digital screen mounted to the yoke body and operable to receive test information in response to user input at the digital screen;
a slot defined in the yoke body and sized to receive a removable flash memory card operable to store the test information, one or more photographs or video of the surface of the test object, and the location of the MPT; and
an antenna operable to transmit the test information, one or more photographs or video of the surface of the test object, and the location of the MPT to a remote device via a network.
2 . The digital portable MPT of claim 1 , wherein the smart digital processor is configured to:
associate the one or more photographs or video of the surface of the test object with the test information and location of the MPT; and
store the one or more photographs or video of the surface of the test object, the test information, and location of the MPT in a permanent electronic record.
3 . The digital portable MPT of claim 1 , further comprising a camera switch arranged on the handle and actuatable to activate the camera.
4 . The digital portable MPT of claim 1 , wherein the test information comprises a part number of the test object, a facility name, an identification number for a technician operating the MPT, a date, and time.
5 . The digital portable MPT of claim 1 , wherein the network is a WiFi network.
6 . The digital portable MPT of claim 5 , wherein the MPT determines the location of the MPT based on a delay of packets sent over the network.
7 . The digital portable MPT of claim 1 , further comprising a global positioning system (GPS) module that provides geographic coordinates to the smart digital processor for determining the location of the MPT.
8 . The digital portable MPT of claim 7 , wherein the smart digital processor performs navigation tracking of the MPT by monitoring the location of the MPT over time.
9 . The digital portable MPT of claim 8 , wherein the smart digital processor stores the test information associated with the location and photographs captured over time in a permanent electronic record.
10 . The digital portable MPT of claim 9 , wherein the smart digital processor transmits a live video feed from the camera to the remote device that displays the live video feed over the network via the antenna.
11 . The digital portable MPT of claim 10 , wherein the smart digital processor transmits the permanent electronic record to the remote device over the network via the antenna.
12 . A method for performing magnetic particle inspection with a digital portable magnetic particle tester (MPT), the method comprising:
placing a pair of poles of the MPT in contact with a surface of a test object, the MPT further including:
a yoke body providing a handle;
a camera mounted to the yoke body between the pair of poles;
a smart digital processor positioned within the yoke body; and
a digital screen mounted to the yoke body and operable to receive test information in response to user input at the digital screen;
manually entering the test information into the digital screen of the MPT;
generating a magnetic field with the pair of poles and thereby magnetizing the surface of the test object;
obtaining one or more photographs or video of the surface with the camera;
determining location information of the MPT with the smart digital processor;
associating the one or more photographs or video of the surface with the test information and the location information with the smart digital processor; and
storing the one or more photographs or video of the surface associated with the test information and the location information in a permanent electronic record with the smart digital processor.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising transmitting the permanent electronic record to a remote device with an antenna of the MPT.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising transmitting the one or more photographs or video recorded by the camera to a remote device with an antenna of the MPT.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the test information comprises at least one of a date, a time, a technician ID, facility name, and part number for the test object, and wherein generating the magnetic field with the pair of poles comprises:
applying electrical power to the pair of poles in response to manually entering the test information into the digital screen.
16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising tracking the location of the MPT over time using the smart digital processor and based on the location information provided by a global positioning system (GPS) module.
17 . A machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program for performing a magnetic particle inspection of a surface of a test object with a digital portable magnetic particle tester (MPT), the computer program comprising a routine of set instructions for causing the MPT to perform the steps of:
receiving, in response to user interaction with a digital screen mounted to a yoke body of the MPT, test information at the digital screen, the MPT further including:
a pair of poles extending from the yoke body to contact the surface of the test object;
a camera mounted to the yoke body between the pair of poles;
a smart digital processor positioned within the yoke body; and
a handle provided by the yoke body;
obtaining one or more photographs or video of the surface with the camera;
determining location information of the MPT with the smart digital processor;
associating the one or more photographs or video of the surface with the test information and location information with the smart digital process; and
storing the one or more photographs or video of the surface associated with the test information and the location information in a permanent electronic record with the smart digital processor.
18 . The machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , the set of instructions further comprising transmitting the one or more photographs or video to a remote device with an antenna of the MPT.
19 . The machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , the set of instructions further comprising the location of the MPT over time using the smart digital processor based on the location information provided by a global positioning system (GPS) module.
20 . The machine-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the test information comprises a date, a time, a technician ID, facility name, and part number for the test object.