Advantages of CT in 3D Scanning of Industrial Parts

Industrial CT (computerized tomography) uses a series of 2-dimensional images taken at specific intervals around the entire sample. Basically any type of industrial CT system uses three principal components: an X-ray tube, an X-ray detector, and a rotational stage. Everything is enclosed within a radiation shielding steel/lead/steel cabinet that typically ranges between four and 10 feet cubed. This allows use of the system in a public environment without any additional safety concerns. Micro computed tomography (micro-CT) is primarily the same as standard CT except it uses a micro focus tube instead of a traditional tube. A micro-CT scan yields resolutions in microns because the focal spot of a micro focus tube is only a few microns in size. For comparison, micro-CT resolution is about 100 times better than the best CAT scan in the medical field. High quality industrial X-ray detectors used for CT are typically a new generation amorphous silicon flat panel area detector. They offer a very high sensitivity, resolution and bit depth. The resulting 2D X-ray images are very clear and the contrast is unparalleled.