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What is Visual Inspection?
Visual inspection can be used in nearly all areas of preventive maintenance.
The inspection can be carried out both while the machine/plant is in operation and when it is shut down.
Visual inspection can be directly applied in a number of areas, such as:
- Checking cleanliness
- Checking for corrosion, erosion, and deformations
- Checking for fractures, cracks, and wear
- Checking manometers, pressure switches, and temperatures
- Checking oil level, lubrication, and any lubrication devices
- Checking the functionality of machines and installations
Visual Inspection Methods:
Example of a Videoscope System
X2000 Videoscope from Mitcorp
The History of Visual Inspection:
Developments in the field of “Visual Inspection” primarily stem from an increased awareness. The scope of inspection is expanded in line with experience regarding the durability—or lack thereof—of a facility’s or machine’s installations. Through that knowledge, one makes better use of one’s senses.
This experience, combined with the use of the right tools and systematic inspection practices, can yield thorough documentation of observations for the decision-making process.
What is RVI?
RVI stands for Remote Visual Inspection, i.e. visual inspection from a distance, or indirect visual inspection, which typically involves going deep into pipes or through small openings to see inside machines, tanks, and similar structures.
RVI is divided into 2 categories as described below:
What is TV Inspection?
A pipe camera, also called “TV inspection,” is a type of specialized videoscope designed to move through pipes, drains, sewers, etc., to perform a visual inspection.
This equipment is usually slightly larger than handheld videoscopes because a working length over 30m is often needed, plus a robust design for work in clogged pipes and so on.
Usually used by plumbing/sewer services and dedicated TV inspection companies, but also in industry for examining factory piping and such.
What is an Endoscope?
An endoscope, in some cases also called a videoscope, borescope, or inspection camera, can be used for many purposes. If a visual inspection (TV inspection) is required inside pipes, boilers, cylinders, engines, reactors, heat exchangers, turbines, or other items with narrow, hard-to-reach cavities and/or channels, a videoscope is an important—if not indispensable—tool.
The endoscope is an evolution of older borescopes and fiberscopes. It operates on a principle in which the image is captured by a small electronic sensor that transmits signals to a video processor, which then sends the image to a monitor/display. The electronic sensor is located at the end of a flexible fiber optic cable, available in lengths up to 30m and with diameters as small as 2.5mm.
Modern Wifi Videoscope from Mitcorp
W2145 wifi videoscope from Mitcorp
Videoscopes and Endoscopes Historically:
Visual inspection is probably the oldest Non-Destructive Testing method. It remains one of the most important.
The amount of information from a visual inspection is considerable, as details like surface condition, shape, color, and presence of defects, etc., can be recorded.
By using Endoscopes and Videoscopes, one compensates for the human eye’s inability to see around corners and its limited resolution.
The word “endoscope” is of Greek origin and can be loosely translated as “viewing the inside.”
The first endoscopes—which made it possible to see inside hollow organs or cavities from the outside—were developed for medical purposes.
From these early steps came more technically oriented instruments called Borescopes. These borescopes are and were rigid instruments, equipped with lens optics and a miniature incandescent lamp for illumination.
In the next generation, the incandescent lamp was replaced by fiber-optic illumination. This allowed for significantly stronger lighting and made better photo documentation possible.
The major development step was realized with the invention of flexible fiber-optic imaging. This made it possible to inspect difficult-to-access surfaces that could not be reached in a straight line.
As an alternative to fiberscopes’ image transmission via glass fibers, the image can now be captured by a small electronic sensor that transmits the signals to a video processor, which then sends the image to a high-resolution monitor. This technology allows for significantly longer endoscopes than before.