UT training.

Date 12-16-2015 12:11

I did my L1 in Houston also (2009). They had some Panametrics Epoch4's to play with. Your machine will do the same things, maybe different buttons. I don't recall anyone bringing their own instrument.

By js55

Date 12-16-2015 13:39

At GE in Cincinnati we had our hands on the equipment the first day. The theory went side by side with the practical.

By Superflux (****)

Date 12-16-2015 14:35 Edited 12-16-2015 14:42

I went through the RT Interp class there (by the big airport?) a few years ago and then back to back went for their 1 and 2 UT up in Connecticut back in '09. I just wanted to go to New England (tax deductible vacation too!) visit some friends and scratch Rhode Island off the list. Business/pleasure/career enhancement all in one felled swoop. All's left is Alaska to have visited all 50 states. But I digress...
Great school and instructors at both locations.
I still remember the acronym F PADS CRYN. I just can't remember what it all referred to... but the "Y" is an upside down lambda for the universal scientific sign for wavelength.
Biring Institute down on the south side of town has a fantastic MT and PT training program.

Unless you're going to get some serious hands on scanning time, I recommend you go for the Level II ASAP so it's all fresh.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 12-16-2015 16:41 Edited 12-16-2015 16:44

The guy who the boys and I signed up to take our UT from does it the same way, no hands on until about Thursday.

BUT, he double booked himself and had to have another guy do our course. He did as Jeff's instructor and had us fire the units up on the first day.

You'll get it. But boy is there a lot of information to digest.

We used our own machine as well and so did the rest of the class. Make it totally applicable to you. After you get used to it then it isn't too bad to learn other machines. I have a Krautkramer USM 35. Where I am doing TPI has an EPOCH 650.

He Is In Control, Have a Great Day, Brent

By js55

Date 12-16-2015 16:51

I like the GE location because its at the GE training school on the northside and you can see the jet engines they train on right there at the facility. Plus, the motels are close and BJ's Brewhouse and Smokey Bones, two of my favorites, are nearby as well.
I did RT Int at Hellier by the Houston airport as well. I like Houston because I lived there for 7 years and still have friends. Oh, and I like Babins, Saltgrass, and the Mexican food.
I found the instructors excellent at both.

By Duke

Date 12-17-2015 02:08

Is your 35 the "X" or does it have the bells and whistles? I'm using a 35X.

By welderbrent (*****)

Date 12-17-2015 03:56

AAWW, you got me. You're talking to a guy who doesn't pay much attention to all the possible variations and model distinctions. I'll look at it if I get a chance over the next couple of days and see what I can come up with.

Al could answer that better than me, I got it from him. I'm still learning how to use it, not really caring about the differences between what I have and what I might like to have. Though this 650 that the other guys are using and letting me get some time on is a sweet unit for sure.

Brent

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 12-17-2015 12:07

You'll do fine Lawrence, it was a bit of a learning curve for me due to the terms. Once I realized what some of these terms meant, it all started connecting the dots for me.

I went through the Krautkramer classes as well in Lewistown, PA back in Oct. 1999 for Level I and Jan. 2000 for Level II...at the old headquarters.
Instead of jet engines like Jeff stated, they had train/locomotive parts that they tested for the railroad nearby. One of the first phased array units was there in prototype when I sat through a refresher UT weld inspection course in 2004 and they showed us how it could scan a wheel/axle combo without disassembly due to the ability of scanning in multiple angles all at once.

As for hands-on the unit, they had USN 50's there and we turned them on the first day and went through the menus so we could learn to navigate the machine settings. The classroom and practical went hand in hand everyday. What Jim Farthe(SP?) showed us on the overhead, we practiced on the machine. Mainly stayed with straight beam stuff during the Level I class, but ventured into some angle beam math and scanning by the end of Level I. Level II we jumped in with both feet on the angle beam scanning. Understanding the math is essential in my opinion to be able to map out where your sound is expected to be and what you should expect to see with different transducer positions. Some complicated geometry can stump you if you are expecting to see something and it doesn't show up on the screen, be able to map it out can show you a bounce that you may not have predicted....or figure out that ghost signal that popped up out of nowhere...LOL

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 12-17-2015 12:40

It's been a real challenge. Most of the other students have been doing UT day in and day out for years, but had never been through a course... It's fun watching their lightbulbs flash when the instructor states the theory behind the work they have been doing.. They get really excited.

We have been using the "Olympus" units since day one.. Mostly doing thickness/corrosion testing on samples of pipe.

I respected you guys before because you could do "magic" finding flaws with invisible waves.

Now I respect you guys for the knowledge/work that goes into being even mildly competent in UT

By js55

Date 12-17-2015 13:04

Lawrence,
I understand your learning curve issue quite well. I was the only non UT person in my class at GE, AND I was the only non coatings guy for my NACE CIP class as well. You spend two days just learning how to talk and understand what's being said.
At least with the CWI I understood the language. There I hit the ground running. For NACE and UT it the ground with my face.

By 803056

Date 12-17-2015 22:32

I think I did four weeks of UT training classes, i.e. UT level I, UT Level II, UT Weld Inspection, Advance UT over a two year time frame. I did all four courses with Hellier in Connecticut in the early eighties. Each class required more and more trig. Each course was interesting and challenging.

Most of my UT is inspecting forging presses, machinery, and once in a while, structural steel to AWS D1.1. The hard part is envisioning where the sound is going and where it is coming from when you see a signal on the screen.

I see too many operators announce they found a crack any time they see a blip on the screen. Learning that not all reflected signals are caused by cracks is a tough lesson to learn for some folks.

I often use my AutoCAD to map the joint and the signal to better understand what is happening. It helps build confidence that I am interpreting the signal correctly. It also helps to be able to show the client exactly what is happening and what is causing the signal to appear where it does.

Best regards - Al

By CWI555

Date 12-18-2015 04:18

"The hard part is envisioning where the sound is going and where it is coming from"

That is the difference between a UT operator, and a technician. Envisioning in 4 dimensions isn't easy. X,Y,Z and time. It's been my experience that is something people have innately or don't have at all. It's not an ability that can be learned, at least not that I have seen.

By js55

Date 12-18-2015 13:12

Al,
Yeah, when I did RT Int with Hellier in Houston there were several guys that were in their third week. RT I, RT II, and RT Int. They were spent. They just wanted to go home. I know companies sometimes like their people to get in get it all and get out as soon as possible but I don't think that is the most effective way to do it. I think one needs 'soak' time for each stage. My UT's and NACEs were a year apart. And another year on NACE nuke. And in all cases the latter courses were easier. This is perhaps a little too long for those that are hired to do UT or coatings but I think it was better for me that way.
For me the location is everything. When in class it makes little difference, after class it matters. I saw Gettysburg for the first time due to Nuke Lead Auditor Training.

By 803056

Date 12-18-2015 20:25

I agree, crash courses are tough. That's why I spread them out a little. Hands-on time and self study the reinforce what was taught in the classroom.

I never had time for the NACE training. Welding issues keep me busy 7-days a week.

Best regards - Al

By js55

Date 12-18-2015 20:42

I never was a paint guy myself but due to my job I needed to diversify. Coatings are interesting in that there seems to be no middle ground. There is a kindergarten level (me), and then there is polymer chemistry (the people who's phone numbers I have).

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 12-18-2015 22:05

LOL, the NACE guys are the inspectors making good money....Wow, I was embarrassed listening to guys around me in those NACE classes talking about their salaries and how much they would get once they passed those courses. Weld inspection in my area would never pay anywhere near what those coating inspectors can make.

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 12-19-2015 18:36

Well the good news is that I got though the Level I course and scored a 98% on the final exam...

The test score is funny to me because I can say with confidence that I don't know much about UT. I am less than an infant in this type of inspection!

I will probably take a couple of months to simmer and do the Level II course in Feb/March so I can get some further training under a watchful eye on shear wave, which is really all I'm going to be doing for my current employer... Just D1.1 CJP's

I did enjoy the week and am satisfied with Fernando Villanueva, the Level III instructor... He was very good at repeating key concepts through the week and was VERY patient with my questions.

By js55

Date 12-21-2015 14:08

Lawrence,
Yeah I can certainly testify that these courses are only the very very basics. I could never operate as a UT tech but at least I have a concept of what I'm looking at. Good job.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 12-22-2015 12:06

Congrats Lawrence, :cool:

Now that you have Level I under your belt, the Level II course will build on that knowledge. It would be tough to just jump right into Level II without the Level I concepts. I'm glad that you had an instructor who would take time to answer your questions. I was one of those who asked tons of questions until the light came on. I didn't let something pass by that I didn't understand, I would ask for him to back up and dig a little deeper into the mud until I could see how that information applied. My first hurdle was understanding the signals and why I was seeing them in the order they occurred on the screen. Once that was worked out in my head, it all started making sense from then on.
Work with your cal block and get the D1.1 calibrations down. When I was in Level I, that seemed to me to be one of the biggest tasks, and now it takes a mere few seconds to actually go through those steps to get the machine ready for inspection. When I was in Level I, that calibration took for ever and seemed so daunting and tedious. Then the light came on and it clicked, the calibration wasn't as big of a deal as I was making it out to be. I had it all worked up in my head that it was this huge procedure and it really wasn't.

By js55

Date 12-21-2015 14:10

John,
The money jumps even higher when you get the corrosion certs. I have a friend in the gulf region that knocks down 120k to 140k a year and he turns down work. He said it all exploded for him once he got the corrosion certs.

By jwright650 (*****)

Date 12-22-2015 12:11

Jeff, that is exactly what I've heard too. Tank farms and following the pipe across country would be great for a single fella who can travel. Down around the coast here in Va. seemed to be where a lot of these guys were located. I'm sure that the Gulf work would be great money. There is a lot of money spent trying to combat corrosion, so it's nice to have the knowledge of how all of that works, it can save someone lots of money when coatings are applied correctly.