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S-Series - Operator Manual - Rev 2
S-Series - Operator Manual - Rev 2
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 3
THEORY OF OPERATION 3
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
INTRODUCTION
TesTex further derived this technique on the basis of conventional Eddy Current technique utilizing
electronics with multiplexing capability and automated software.
A Laptop Computer is connected to the instrument through a USB cable. The computer is used to
control the instrument, storing, data analysis and mapping using the TesTex supplied software. Data is stored at
250-350 samples/second/channel with inspection speed of up to 15 meters per minute.
THEORY OF OPERATION
The magnetic saturation of the ferromagnetic material is achieved by the magnetizing core that acts as a
DC electromagnet to generate a strong magnetic field. The saturation lowers the permeability of the
ferromagnetic material which allows the Eddy Current field to penetrate deeper into the material. The high
resolution 16-channel sensor array is located between the poles of the core. The sensor array generates an
alternating Eddy Current field superimposed to the magnetic field generated by the core. By using single
frequency in a sequential injection mode, the defects, such as: cracking, top/bottom side pitting, localized and
general wall thinning, can be detected and sized.
Any wall loss will result in a concentration of the magnetic field in the remaining wall, resulting in an
increased magnetic flux density around and under the defect. This results in a localized reduction of the
magnetic permeability of the test sample, which is detected by the sensor array. The distortion in the magnetic
field is measured as a change of phase and amplitude in the secondary voltage generated by the material and is
based on the reflective impedance method. The signal amplitude of the defect indication is in direct proportion
to the volume of the defect, and using the proper reference standard, provides an estimate of the wall loss. The
signal phase of the defect indication is used to differentiate ID and OD (Top Side and Bottom Side) defects.
During testing, the scanner is placed on the sample. While saturating a portion of the plate, the sensor
array is balanced. After balancing, data is collected as the scanner is driven across the length of the sample at a
constant speed with a preset pattern. The processing of the data occurs in real-time and the data is stored as a
Lissajous pattern containing both phase and amplitude information.
The following sections describe the steps necessary to operate the Falcon S-Series system. Included are
the Packing List, Computer Requirements, Equipment Connections and Software Installation details.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
WARNING:
Falcon S-Series system generates a strong magnetic field. When the system is energized, the attractive
force between the scanner bottom and any metallic object has the potential to cause physical injury. The
system is to be energized only when the front AND rear wheels of the scanner are on the surface to be
scanned.
WARNING:
The Falcon S-Series generates a strong magnetic field which may interfere with the operation of certain
medical devices.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
System requirements
The Falcon S-series comes with an installation CD/or Flash Drive containing the software/driver installer.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
Once finished, the installation wizard will put 3 new shortcuts for
Data Acquisition, Data Viewer and Tank Floor Mapping software.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
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Upper part of the handle bar Lower part of the handle bar
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Optional Falcon S-Series Jr. system Hand-held Scanner, Junction Box and 25 feet
extension cable
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
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1.3.2 ASSEMBLING
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 4 – attach the lower support bars to the lower handle Step 5 – attach the lower support bars to the scanner base
bars using #2 pins; also affix accessory pouches. using #3 pins
Step 6 – turn the scanner around Step 7 – attach the laptop tray
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 8 – position the Electronics Box on the tray Step 9 – strap the Electronics Box to the tray
Step 10 – connect gray Electronics cable and 4 black Data Step 11 – connect gray Electronics cable and 4
Mux-Cables to the scanner base corresponding black Data Mux-Cables
to the Electronics Box
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 12 – turn the scanner around Step 13 – attach Jr. Junction Box (if hand-held scanner is
not used, skip this step and proceed to Step 14)
Step 14 – attach the motor control box Step 15 – connect the handle bar cable to the motor control
box and motor control box to the Electronics Box
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 16 – plug in the 12VDC laptop Adapter to the motor Step 17 – place the laptop on the tray, connect the
control box Electronics Box and the laptop via USB cable,
insert the HaspKey into the USB port of the laptop
Step 18 – Unwind the reel and plug in the reel cable to the Step 19 – if hand-held scanner is used, attach #1 Data Mux-
power supply box and to the scanner base. Cable, gray Electronics Box cable to Electronics Box and
Junction box, connect the reel cable and 25 feet extension
cable to the junction box and to the hand-held scanner
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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1.4 POWER UP
Electronics BOX and Power Supply Box
When the new hardware found message comes up, select to Install from a Specific Location. For the location:
select the C:\Program Files\TesTex, Inc\Testex_FTDI USB Driver folder and allow the driver to load
8) Run acquisition software by double-clicking the " Falcon S Acquisition R03.94" icon.
To run the data acquisition program, double-click Falcon S Acquisition R03.94. This will place the user
on the main collection screen. This screen is shown below (Figure 1). At this point, the settings used the last
time the unit was in use will be restored. Most of the settings are visible at the bottom of the screen. The
settings include the current file name, Frequencies used, Driver Levels, Gains, and Rotations.
This system uses ± 5V Analog to Digital converter (A/D) and all readings are displayed in scaled
Voltages allowing ± 20V range.
Above each of the plots the channel number and component to display (H for Horizontal, V for Vertical)
are listed.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
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STEPPER
“Alt + F + T” This control allows the user to select how the file
name is stepped. Just enter the number to step by into
the appropriate field and the number will be
incremented automatically whenever the file is stored.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE) Revision: 02
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SAVE SETTINGS
LOAD SETTINGS
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Date: 07-21-16
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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SENSOR CONTROL
FALCON “S” CONTROL PANEL
Driver Level
The system can be motorized or operated with no motor. This panel allows the user to select the power level to
For system being fully automated, chose the option of excite the sensor for all channels. The value can be set
“motorized” and enable ASSISTED MODE. anywhere from 1-600, however, the system works best
at 575 and values should be kept at this level whenever
ENCODER CONTROL possible.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Date: 07-21-16
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Date: 07-21-16
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
and Services for NDT
Keystroke Notes
COLLECT DATA (Manual mode – signal quality check)
In case of ASSISTED MODE not being enabled in the control panel (CTRL + Y), pressing the space bar once
will activate the collection mode and cause the incoming data to be stored in the computer. Pressing the space bar
again will stop the collection and the program will ask you if you want to save the data. Pressing Y will cause the
data to be stored on the disk. Pressing N will cause the program to start displaying the incoming data again
without storing the data to disk. Pressing T will store the data and switch to the display (like F10 was pressed).
“SPACE BAR”
Note, in order to estimate the noise level of differential coils, disable the ASSISTED MODE, set DRIVER
LEVEL to 575, and all DIFF GAINS to 100. Press SPACE BAR. Data collection will start. After a few seconds
press SPACE BAR again, save data and press F10. In the viewer press CTRL + T to increase the cursor setting to
1.00 sec. Look at the Voltage Span of the signals in all 16 channels. It should not exceed 0.25V. If it does try to
change frequency and gain values. If noise persists, turn the Electronics Box off for 10-15 seconds, then power it
back up.
Keystroke Notes
RESCAN
“Alt + P” This keystroke will cause the program to step backwards to the previous file name. On a re-scan, the program will
increment the sweep number by 1.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
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SWEEP TIME
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
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Keystroke Notes
“Ctrl + R”
Figure 12 – Rotation Control Panel( ACQUISITION screen)
ROTATION CONTROL
This control allows the user to select a phase angle in degrees to rotate the incoming signal by. The value can
be selected from a range of 0 to 359 degrees (these values are relative and do not reflect actual phase values).
Rotate and verify the response for the 20% Bottom Side Notch to be at 90 degrees in all 16 channels (Press
F10 to toggle to the ANALYSIS screen).
In the ACQUISITION screen, enter the change in degrees to achieve 90 degrees (in the VIEWER). For
instance, if channel #1 response displays (in the VIEWER) the angular value that is less than 90 degrees, then
the difference to achieve the 90 degrees will need to be subtracted from relative value in the cell in the
ACQUISITION screen. And vice-verse, if channel #1 response displays (in the VIEWER) the angular value
that is greater than 90 degrees, then the difference to achieve the 90 degrees will need to be added to the
relative value in the cell (in the ACQUISITION screen).
SCREEN CONTROL
“Ctrl + K” The screen control function is used to
modify the color palette of the screen.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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ABOUT
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
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To run the ECT Data Viewer (Analysis) program, Press F10 from ACQUISITION or double-click Falcon S
Series Viewer R03.94 from the desktop. This will place the user on the main data viewer (analysis) screen.
SELECT FILE
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Keystroke Notes
“Alt + N” NEXT SWEEP – This function causes the program to load the next sweep and display it on the screen.
“ALT + P” PREVIOUS SWEEP – This function causes the program to load the previous sweep
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
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CALIBRATION SAVING
CALIBRATION OPENING
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Keystroke Notes
SCREEN CAPTURE
This keystroke will capture the screen to a file. The file names are as follows:
Folder : c:\Plant Name\Unit Names\Inspection Date\ScreenCaptures
File: FileName.bmp
The system will also prompt the text dialog for notes:
“CTRL + C”
SCREEN CONTROL
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 1 – unscrew 2 bolts on the top of the scanner base Step 2 – raise the lid of the scanner base
(bolts have plastic caps that can be unscrewed by hand)
Step 3 – disconnect the connectors Step 4 – unscrew 2 small bolts in the center of both side
panels
Step 5 – Leaving the rear lower support bars attached, tilt Step 6 – remove the front pole piece and then remove the
the scanner base; use them as kick stands when the coil array
scanner base is tilted up.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 7 – replace the coil array and follow the steps in the reverse order to put the scanner base back together.
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 1 – Place the scanner on a flat plate Step 2 – loose the retaining nuts (4 total)
• Go to Acquisition Program;
• Press CTRL + Y (Falcon S Control Pannel);
• Set the current to 3 Amp;
• Click OK;
• Press F11;
• Click on the button “Turn Saturation ON”.
• The Electromagnet will be energized for a
period of time (not longer than 90 seconds);
if you need more time,
click again on “Turn Saturation ON”;
Step 3 – follow the bullet points above Step 4 – tighten the bolts using Allen Wrench and slide the
shims of the desired thickness under the pole pieces of the
scanner base (4 bolts total)
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Document No: SECT- IP
FALCON S-SERIES SYSTEM Date: 07-21-16
OPERATOR'S MANUAL (QUICK QUIDE)
Revision: 02
State of the Art Products
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Step 5 – start to loose the bolts and periodically check the Step 6 – tighten all retaining nuts.
lift-off on each corner of the scanner. Achieve the same
friction on each corner of the scanner.
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