Did you know that Abaris has a nondestructive inspection (NDI) course?

Offered twice a year, the NDI course is designed for the repair technician, fabricator, or inspector tasked with identifying and quantifying defects in new or damaged composite panels using the latest equipment, methods, and techniques. The course is very “hands-on” in nature, and quite busy. The instruction is performed by an ASNT certified Level III engineer and is flexible to adapting to the students’ needs.

Introduction:

The most commonly used NDI techniques will be discussed and some will be practiced in class. These techniques include Visual Inspection, Tap Testing (both manual and instrumented tap testing), Resonance Bond Testing, Acoustic Emission testing, Radiographic testing, and Ultrasonic Inspection. Some of the more sophisticated techniques, such as Pulsed Thermography, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Laser Shearography, and Laser Holographic Interferometry may be presented, but not actively used in the class.

The students will inspect fiber-reinforced composite panels, of both solid laminate and sandwich construction. These panels will include deliberate defects in specified areas and will be inspected using different techniques to determine which methods or techniques work best for detecting the different types of defects. Through actual hands-on practice, the students will learn what methods work best and what may not work as well on different structures and with different types of defects. The goal is for the student to obtain a thorough understanding of why these differences exist, and which methods of inspection are most applicable to a specific structure.

Training begins with a discussion of the basic elements of composite materials, and construction techniques. This leads into conversation about common flaws, defects, and typical damage scenarios, including hidden damage issues. Other topics include a review of damage types and causes, as well as damage from unexpected sources such as water, paint stripper, hydraulic fluid, and low-intensity impacts. The inherent pros and Cons of all techniques and lessons learned will be discussed in detail; including a discussion about defects which cannot currently be detected with existing NDI methods or techniques.

Pre-Requisite:

M-1/R-1 or equivalent experience is preferred but not required.

Key Lecture Topics:

• Introduction to composite materials and processes.

• Fundamentals of solid laminate & sandwich panel construction.

• Types of defects and potential causes.

• Damage detection and assessment.

• Inspecting for hidden damage.

• Inspecting known damage.

• Overview of NDI methods and techniques.

• Classroom introduction to specific workshop exercises.

Workshop Exercises:

• Students will perform visual inspection, manual tap testing, digital tap testing, ultrasonic and resonance bond testing on the composite panels to find flaws and defects on simulated and actual composite structures.

• The class will also inspect secondarily bonded composite specimens with intentional defects at the bond interface utilizing different methods and techniques to determine best practices applicable for bondline inspection.

The next class is scheduled for 30 September-4 October 2024. Enroll online at https://portal.abaris.com/events.

Are You Taking Advantage of Abaris Discounts?

Did you know that Abaris has discounts available that you can use to reduce the cost of tuition for your classes?  The discounts are available through the “Discounts” tab on our home page or as follows in this blog post.

You can enroll online today using one of the following discount codes at checkout, or mention it to our admin staff when enrolling by phone at (775) 827-6568, or by email at admin@abaris.com.

* Note: Discounts are only available at U.S. facilities and are not valid elsewhere.  These discounts cannot be used in addition to any other discounts or promotions.

Multi-student/class discount 

Enroll a student in multiple classes or enroll multiple students in a single class (or classes) and receive a $100 discount per student per class! 

·        This discount is available to anybody who wishes to save money by enrolling either a single student for multiple classes or multiple students for the same class, or series of classes at one time! Simply apply discount code MULTI100 at checkout and the discount will be automatically applied to each student’s tuition price. 

* Note: Discount is only available at U.S. facilities and is not valid elsewhere.  This discount cannot be used in addition to any other discounts or promotions.

Military discount

Abaris offers an individual tuition discount of $300 for each active-duty or civilian military person who wish to enroll in a class.  A “dot Mil” email address is required for processing.  Simply use MIL300 discount code at checkout.

Large group discount

Do you have five or more people at your organization that need training?  

We at Abaris understand that you may want to get the best price available for your group.  As a result, we offer group tuition discounts for multiple students attending our regularly scheduled classes at our Reno, NV facility.  We will negotiate directly with you to plan the needed training for your team.  Students are not required to attend classes at the same time or even the same courses/classes to qualify.  Instead, we are flexible with these class arrangements, the number of students that you send at a time, and in a manner that will best meet your schedule for each fiscal or calendar year. 

Please contact us today to find out more about this offer. You can reach us at: training@abaris.com.

ACMA member discount

The ACMA Affinity Program is committed to reducing the overhead cost to ACMA members for various products and services throughout the industry.  As an Affinity Program partner, Abaris is offering a $200 tuition discount to any ACMA members (check to see if your company is a member) that enroll in any of our regularly scheduled classes our U.S. facility. 

To take advantage of this discount, simply sign up for an account on our website (if you have not yet done so), login, and then apply discount code ACMA200 at checkout.  Your $200 discount will automatically be applied to your tuition amount.  You will be asked to show proof of your ACMA membership when you arrive at class. 

Special Reader Discount: 

We hope that you will take advantage of one of the discounts offered above, however, if you do not qualify for one of those discounts, please use this special discount code: ABA100 and receive $100 off the tuition price for any class!

Abaris Gears Up for Thermoplastic Composite (TPC) Processing

Testing was performed recently on newly acquired thermoforming presses at Abaris’ Reno, NV headquarters. The testing is in preparation for adding TPC demonstrations to current courses in the near with an eye on producing a future course on TPC’s.

The new course will include an overview of both high-performance amorphous and semicrystalline thermoplastics, along with fiber forms that are used in the aerospace, wind, and automotive industries. Workshop exercises TPC’s to a selection of different shapes and challenges.

We hope to have a class on the menu in mid-2025.  Stay tuned!