Borescopes are inspection cameras or optical instruments, which are used across multiple industries to provide a view of hard-to-reach areas and inspect the insides of structures, objects, parts, and systems. Using a borescope offers an array of advantages for aviation and aerospace engineers, plumbers, mechanics, and automotive technicians. One of the main benefits of employing borescopes in the workplace is saving time and money.
In this informative guide to borescopes and the benefits they offer, we’ll discuss how using a borescope can increase efficiency and efficacy, lower costs and reduce safety risks.
Uses of borescopes
Before we delve deeper into the advantages of using borescopes in industries like aviation, automotive engineering, mechanics, construction, and HVAC, it’s beneficial to explore how borescopes work and how organizations use them.
Types of borescope
There are several different types of borescopes, which offer benefits for different industries and applications. Examples include:
1. Videoscope
A videoscope, also known as a video borescope, comprises a miniature video camera, which captures stills as well as video footage. This type of borescope transmits light through an objective lens. The operator can view images on a portable monitor or a computer screen. Videoscopes are used to inspect areas or environments that are difficult to access or view. They provide remote access to structures and objects ranging from automotive and aerospace parts to turbines, pipes, and hard-to-reach buildings.
2. Rigid borescope
A rigid borescope is an inspection tool, which is made up of a rigid tube with a high-quality rod glass lens system. Rigid borescopes are ideally suited to objects or structures that require a straight entry. They are normally less expensive and often produce higher-quality images than fiberoptic borescopes.
3. Flexible borescope
A flexible borescope has a flexible, bendy tube, which enables entry into a curved structure.
4. Fiberoptic borescope
A fiberoptic borescope uses glass or leached plastic fibers, rather than conventional lenses to relay images. This type of borescope is flexible, meaning that it can be used for exploring deep holes and structures and settings that cannot be accessed using a rigid borescope.
Common applications of borescopes
Borescopes have a diverse range of uses. They are employed across a broad spectrum of industries. Common applications include:
● Inspecting engine parts in the automotive and aerospace industries
● Inspecting wind turbines
● Internal inspections of tubes, pipes, and manufactured parts
● Quality control and safety assessments
● Searching for signs of damage and wear
● Inspecting and maintaining heavy-duty machinery and equipment
● Inspecting tanks and boilers
How can borescopes save time and money?
Borescopes have revolutionized the way individuals and organizations work. Using a borescope provides access to environments and images that simply wouldn’t be visible without advanced optical instruments and cameras. Inspections that used to take hours or even days can now be completed within minutes thanks to modern-day borescopes. Saving time and money is one of the most significant advantages of employing borescopes in the workplace. Here are some of the ways in which using a borescope can save operators precious time and cut costs:
1. Reducing inspection time
In decades gone by, carrying out an inspection may have involved a series of complex processes, which effectively required the individual or team to take an object or structure apart to be able to see inside it or check for signs of damage or wear. Borescopes not only enable people to see inside structures and access environments that wouldn’t otherwise be accessible, but they also dramatically reduce the time it takes to carry out a detailed inspection. From wind turbines to parts used to build airplane and car engines, a borescope can provide you with high-quality images quickly and easily while eliminating the need for manual labor.
Using a borescope offers a cost-effective, efficient alternative to complicated disassembly and assembly processes, providing a speedy, safe way to identify and solve problems.
2. Fast, effective problem-solving
One of the key benefits of using borescopes is the ability to solve problems. Borescopes are used widely in industrial settings and environments to highlight issues and underlying causes of problems, but crucially, they also play an integral role in the problem-solving process. Using a borescope, such as a videoscope, you can fix problems quickly with minimal effort.
Solving problems swiftly is important for several reasons. Time delays in identifying and fixing issues can make problems worse, which increases the risk of further damage or safety risks and costs organizations more. The faster you can spot and resolve problems, the more money you’ll save.
3. Reducing workload
Borescopes offer a highly-effective, efficient means of inspecting environments, structures, objects, and components and checking quality control boxes. In many cases, the use of a borescope will reduce employee workload or even eliminate the need for manual work. Using borescopes frees up time for employees to focus on other tasks and it can also save employers money. Employees achieve more in a shorter space of time if they can complete jobs quickly and buying equipment like a borescope can reduce overall labor costs for business owners.
4. Obtaining high-quality images
Borescopes obtain high-quality images and video footage, which provide professionals with the data and information they need to undertake tasks, solve problems and work efficiently. Without borescopes, workers would have to complete the same jobs with images that don’t provide the same level of quality or clarity. This makes tasks more difficult, it increases the risk of mistakes and it impacts safety. In cases where a borescope is employed to look for damage or defects, accessing good-quality images can help to reduce the risk of repeat problems, which would increase maintenance and repair costs.
5. Storing data
Teams can benefit from opportunities to store and access data collected during inspections using a borescope. Borescopes provide a very simple data collection method and the option to store information, which can be used further down the line. This speeds up the process of diagnosing defects, troubleshooting, and solving problems. If workers have easy access to the data they need, they can save time and effort when embarking upon future inspections, which will save the employer or organization money.
Collecting data has benefits for organizations now and in the future. Analyzing data allows individuals and teams to make decisions based on solid, reliable information. In the case of repairs and maintenance, for example, the images can help teams to highlight priority jobs and determine how and when repairs are undertaken moving forward.
6. Saving money on maintenance
Buying equipment and machinery represents a major expense for companies and firms within industries, including aviation and aerospace, manufacturing, and construction, but there are also maintenance costs to consider. The good news for organizations that use borescopes is that maintenance charges are relatively low. Borescopes are made using high-quality, durable materials, which are built to last and are easy to maintain. Operators can also use data collected by the borescope to simplify maintenance processes and save money.
7. Monitoring equipment
Equipment, technology, and machinery used in industries like aviation can last for decades. One significant advantage of using a borescope is the ability to monitor equipment over time. Every time you schedule an inspection, you can access data from the last check and compare images to assess the condition of equipment or components and see how well they are aging. This provides accurate insight, which is beneficial for budgeting, and the opportunity to spot early warning signs, which lowers repair and maintenance costs.
8. Enhancing safety
Borescopes play an important role in enhancing safety by identifying defects, solving problems, and ensuring quality control but they can also help to protect employees and workers who engage in high-risk activities. By eliminating manual tasks, borescopes reduce safety risks, which in turn, protects company reputations and saves time and money.
9. Optimizing industrial processes
Using a borescope can help to optimize industrial processes in manufacturing, engineering, and construction by providing access to detailed images and video clips. The images and data collected by borescopes enable teams to learn based on real-life images rather than diagrams or theories explored by books. They can see physical defects or signs of damage, understand how different materials work and gain an insight into what to look out for during thorough inspections.
10. Simplifying inspections
Borescopes are used to inspect all kinds of devices, structures, parts, objects, and environments. A team may need to inspect a single component or a huge range of parts used to build a complex machine. Inspections and assessments can be incredibly complicated and time-consuming without innovative equipment and instruments. A borescope simplifies the inspection process, providing opportunities to save a huge amount of time and energy. Rather than carrying out complex, arduous manual inspections, teams can employ borescopes to do the job in a fraction of the time with no manpower required.
11. Improving cohesion
Working on projects that involve using advanced equipment and parts often involves groups of people or large numbers of individuals. When the focus is on manual work, it can be difficult to bring people together to collate and explain findings and create a plan of action, which suits every party. Borescopes improve and facilitate cohesion because they allow teams to view the same images and examine parts and equipment together to solve problems collectively. Collaboration increases productivity and efficiency.
Choosing the right borescope
Choosing the right borescope is crucial to take advantage of the many benefits listed above. There are different types of borescopes available and some are better suited to specific situations or scenarios than others. If you don’t select the right type of borescope, you won’t be able to make the most of the technology and you may waste time and resources if you try to use a borescope, which isn’t suitable for the job. Selecting the right tool will save you time and money and boost efficiency.
Several factors influence the suitability of a borescope for a specific task or project, including:
● The structure, object, or part you wish to inspect
● The environment
● Accessibility and the type and shape of the structure: rigid borescopes can only enter in a straight line, for example, and they cannot navigate curves or bends
● Your budget: some borescopes are more expensive than others
● The types of images you want: you can choose from borescopes that relay stills and/or video footage
● The level of detail: rigid borescopes tend to produce more detailed, better-quality images than flexible borescopes. If you can access and explore the structure or object with a rigid borescope, this is usually the best option.
● The application: what are you using a borescope for and what are your objectives?
If you are unsure which borescope to use, it’s beneficial to research and learn about different types of borescopes and seek expert advice. Experts will be able to recommend borescopes based on your requirements, the type of project or task, and your budget.
Key takeaways
● Borescopes are inspection cameras, which provide detailed images of structures and environments that would otherwise be inaccessible or invisible to humans
● There are lots of different types of borescopes, including rigid, flexible, and video borescopes
● Borescopes are used widely in industries, such as aviation and aerospace, automotive engineering, manufacturing, and construction
● Using a borescope can save operators and organizations time and money by speeding up and simplifying inspection and problem-solving processes, eliminating manual tasks, and boosting productivity and efficiency
● Borescopes are relatively inexpensive to maintain and they collect data, which can be used to lower costs and improve performance in the short and long term
● Borescopes provide access to images that enable workers to learn and make decisions based on accurate, real-time data
● Choosing the right type of borescope for the job is essential to maximize time and cost savings
Summary
Borescopes are innovative, advanced optical inspection tools, which enable professionals across multiple industries to save time and money. Borescopes enable us to assess, examine and inspect objects, environments, parts, and structures, which are not accessible or visible to the human eye. Using a borescope facilitates quick, easy, and accurate inspections, offering golden opportunities to boost efficiency and productivity, lower costs, reduce manual workload and optimize operations.
If you require any assistance in making your borescope for purchase or borescope for rent near me, please don’t hesitate to contact USA Borescopes at 931-362-3304 or email us at 931-362-3304.
