Digital radiography is a form of two-dimensional x-ray imaging in which traditional light-sensitive and radiation-sensitive x-ray film and analog hardware have been replaced with a digital image capture device, usually consisting of a flat-panel detector, and computer-based equipment.

Thanks to most recent developments, computed tomography (CT) is now an affordable and efficient
technology for non-destructive testing of workpieces made of a vast variety of materials. While digital radiography provides two-dimensional fluoroscopic images, computed tomography typically rotates the object between the X-ray tube and the flat-panel detector 360° and captures several hundred to well over a thousand X-ray images from various angles.

Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the most revolutionary processes to come along in many years, making a dramatic impact on the industrial market. Also known as 3D printing, AM is a manufacturing technique that builds objects layer by layer using materials such as polymers, metals, and composites. This fast-evolving technology is changing the way engineers think about product design by offering enormous flexibility in what is geometrically possible. However, the more complex the design, the more challenging (and necessary) it can be to inspect in the quality control process.

At the end of July, YXLON International, a company of the Swiss tech holding COMET Group, lent one of their state-of-the-art computed tomography systems to the California Academy of Sciences.  The FF20 CT system will be in use at the institute until January 31st, 2018.