AIT will be exhibiting at the 2017 annual ASNT conference October 30th to November 2nd. This years annual ASNT conference will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. You can find us at the conference entrance booth 1000.

AIT will be exhibiting our video borescopes, pipe inspection cameras, Tank and Vessel inspection cameras, Small diameter inspection solutions and other remote visual inspection equipment. We look forward to speaking with you about your remote visual inspection requirements and how AIT can help.

Equipment you can look forward to seeing includes:

The NEW X-LED Plus videoscope will be available for demo! The new high definition video borescope offers probes from 2.4mm diameter and lengths up to 7.5m. An HD camera provides brilliant resolution. A high high defintion 7" widescreen LCD with a touch screen user interface makes inspections a breeze.

The Mentor Visual IQ is the most advanced high resolution 3D measurement video borescope manufactured. The Mentor IQ is available with fully interchangeable probes with diameters of 4.0, 6.1, 6.2 and 8.4mm. The system boasts the most complete set of interchangeable tip optics including 3D stereo and 3D phased measurement. A high resolution TFT touch screen LCD makes the user interface a breeze.

The PTZx Portable inspection system is tank and vessel inspection cameras will be available at the ASNT conference. Perfect for inspection of tanks, vessels, drums and other large confined spaces. State-of-the-art white LED lighting provides over 1000 lumens of light along with add-on auxiliary lighting brightens the darkest of environments. Coupled with a low-lux, high-resolution CCD imager, zoom optics, continuous pan rotation and 270° of tilt, this sub-4" camera provides excellent quality images with which well-informed decisions can be made.

The MC360 is the best industrial pan and tilt pipe inspection camera. AIT will have the MC360 available for view to show off the ability to inspection long lengths of pipes and other lines without missing any detail. The 50mm diameter head is the smallest diameter pan and tilt camera head in it’s class. The small diameter allows you to inspect smaller pipes that other systems can’t.

The ASNT Annual Conference 2014 will provide Advanced Inspection Technologies Inc. a forum to demonstrate all the latest remote visual inspection equipment that AIT offerers for sale and rental. The newest addition to AIT’s rapidly growing pool of borescope rental equipment is the IPLEX RT video borescope. The addition of new Olympus video borescope rental equipment will ensure that AIT can meet the most demanding needs of our rental customers.

In addition AIT will have several different types of video borescopes, pipe cameras and small diameter fiberscopes on display. AIT is the only remote visual inspection rental company that offers in-depth knowledge of remote visual inspection equipment. No other company offers such a wide variety of borescopes and inspection cameras for rent.

Having an expert staff in the field of remote visual inspection and a wide choice of instruments available allows AIT to help our customers select the best instrument for their particular inspection. Other rental companies have little knowledge of the remote visual inspection equipment they rent and do not have a sufficient inventory properly help most inspection requirements. Instead they simply rent the same borescope regardless of the inspection

Videoscopes or Video Borescopes have many features available that need to be understood when selecting remote visual inspection equipment. Manufacturers of videoscopes and video borescopes have added more and more features over the years that have contributed to a phenomenon know as "feature creep." These unnecessary features have only driven up the cost of equipment and added little or no real value. Most remote visual inspection applications only require certain basic features to to be successfully inspected.

Many are surprised to learn that the CCD that produces a videoscope image are identical regardless of manufacturer. Olympus, General Electric, IT Concepts, Karl Storz and others all used the same CCD manufactured by Sony. The Light Sources also are typically identical across manufacturers as well as the material the videoscope's flexible insertion tube is made of.

In order to differentiate themselves manufacturers have added a dizzying array of features that have only served to make videoscopes or video borescopes difficult to use and expensive. When looking for a videoscope end users need to determine which features are absolutely necessary. To help keep the cost of equipment down and the equipment easy to operate, some basic features are all that 95% of inspections need.

Basic Videoscope Features:

• Articulation. This may be described as "all-way" or "4-way." Articulation is simply the ability of a videoscope to manipulate the tip of the scope at the bending neck. Today most videoscopes 25 feet (7.5 Meters) and shorter have the ability to articulate.
• Tungsten Braided Sheath. Videoscopes are typically used in demanding and harsh industrial environments. A videoscope needs to be constructed of material that will stand up to tough industrial conditions. Professional grade or industrial videoscopes can be distinguished by a tungsten braided sheath for durability. Consumer grade videoscopes with typically have stainless steel or PVC insertions tube.
• Powerful Light Source. A videoscope designed to remotely inspect the interior of gas turbines, heat exchangers, boiler tubes and industrial machinery require powerful light to illuminate these dark areas. Today, most industrial videoscopes use brilliant HID light sources or high output LEDs. Beware an industrial videoscope that utilizes a halogen, xenon or low output LED light sources.
• Digital Image Capture. With all the features that have been added to videoscopes over the years it is difficult to believe that the purpose of remote visual inspection is to view and capture images of the item being inspected. The majority of inspections will require an image to be saved as a record of the condition of the inspected area. Typically, These images will be in .jpeg or .BMP format to be saved on a PC or included in a report.
• Text Annotation. The ability to annotate an inspection location, serial number or condition is very helpful when recalling videoscope inspections for evaluation and determining corrective action.

Keeping the features of a videoscope or video borescope simple is the best way to keep cost low and remote visual inspection equipment user friendly.

Renal of borescopes, videoscopes, fiberscopes and pipe cameras has become a common method of meeting remote visual inspection needs. In the past past the only option to inspecting a one time or emergency application was to purchase equipment for that one purpose.

Today a remote visual inspection rentals can be delivered overnight or even the same day the inspection is required. The appeal of a videoscope rental the cost savings and fast turn around. Remote visual inspection equipment rentals have many benefits for both long an short term requirements.

Some Applications for remote visual inspection rentals include:

• Turbine Inspections. Turbines need to be periodically borescoped to determine the condition. A video borescope rental may be needed if existing equipment is being serviced, there is not enough existing videoscope for the work or you simply do not have the appropriate diameter or length videoscope for the turbine.

• Architectural Inspections. Architectural firms may need to inspect behind a wall, an expensive ornamental fixture or in other difficult to reach area. A Video borescope rental will provide a quick and cost effective method to determine the interior condition of old architectural buildings with damage to the surface.
• Marine Surveys. Luxury yachts and commercial shipping may require a thorough examination prior to closing a sale or lease contract, for an accident investigation or to periodically determine the condition. A video borescope rental can be used for these short term applications for little cost.
• Boiler tube inspections. Boiler tubes at industrial plants need to be inspected for scale, pitting corrosion and other defects. a long videoscope, pipe inspection camera or push camera rental is the perfect solution to quickly and inexpensively complete these inspections.
• Heat exchanger inspections. Heat exchangers at industrial plants need to be inspected for scale, pitting corrosion and other defects. a long videoscope, or video borescope rental quickly provides the best remote visual inspection equipment.

Today's slow economic environment means that the larger budgets of the past are no longer available to purchase your remote visual inspection equipment. The need to inspect critical systems at your plant has not gone away though. I have noticed that capital sales of remote visual inspection equipment is not growing as rapidly as rentals. Recently, rental of remote visual inspection equipment has been a popular choice to conduct required inspections at industrial sites. Renting borescopes, videoscopes, fiberscopes and push or pipe inspection cameras can be a cost-effective way to meet your remote visual inspection requirements. Continue reading →

It may sound like a simple concept but over the years I have witnessed multiple fiberscopes and borescopes that

have been returned for completely avoidable fiberscope repairs. Operators need to understand that remote visual inspection equipment has some limitations, but with the proper care and handling a fiberscope or borescope can last for years.

Some simple rules for proper care and maintenance of a fiberscope:

• Do not immerse the fiberscope body in liquids. Although the flexible insertion tube is completely water proof, the eyepiece is not.
• Do not subject the scope to corrosive fluids. A reasonable rule to follow is that if you can place your hand in it you can use the fiberscope.
• Do not exceed temperatures of 176° F (80° C)
• Do not expose a fiberscope to sources of radiation for extended periods. This will cause the fiber optic bundle to discolor and loose light transmission.
• Never leave the scope unattended.
• Never force the working length of a fiberscope into or out of an inspection area.
• Never bind or coil the flexible working length. This will damage the fiber optics and reduce image quality. It may also damage articulation cables.
• Always clean the fiberscope when finshed with your inspection. A simple houshold window cleaner or equivalent will suffice.
• Always return the scope to its proper storage case when finished. Before closing the lid ensure that the insertion tube and light guide are safely inside.

If you follow these rules I outlined, chances are your fiberscope will last for a long time without incident.