Top 5 Ultrasonic Scanner Manufacturers

You want to purchase a suitable ultrasonic scanner but don’t know where to get it. 

While ultrasonic scanners are essential tools for most quality inspection professionals, many don’t know reliable manufacturers that can meet their inspection criteria. Truth be told, most professionals find top-quality manufacturers after being referred by another professional who had used their services previously. 

But here is the thing, finding suitable ultrasonic scanners isn’t that difficult. It only requires knowing where to look and a standard set of criteria for selecting the right manufacturer. 

This guide gives you the top 5 ultrasonic scanner manufacturers you’ll find in the market today, plus some standard criteria that’ll help you choose the best suitable for you. 

So, let’s get right to it.

I. Top 5 Ultrasonic Scanner Manufacturers

Here are the top 5 ultrasonic scanner manufacturers in the industry today. 

1. GE

• Headquarters: United States of America

• Company Background: GE is the ultrasonic scanner manufacturing arm of Baker Hughes – a leading digital solutions provider for the non-destructive testing industry. Founded in 1892 as SEIFERT, they were focused on manufacturing X-ray machines but quickly grew into what we have today, manufacturing several industrial testing equipment. Their ultrasonic scanners are one of the most advanced in the industry seeing that they have introduced digital technology into their products. These digitized products also make their operations easy and intuitive, giving them an edge over manual equipment manufacturers. GE also has a trademark of quality, making it even more respected in the industry. 

• Popular Products: Ultrasonic scanners, flaw detectors, probes and wedges, thickness gauges, and calibration blocks. 

• Recommend Reason: Their digitization and intuitive testing products make them highly recommendable. 

2. Olympus

• Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan

• Company Background: After more than a century in the industry, Olympus has come to be revered as a giant among manufacturers of ultrasonic scanners. It started in 1919 as an optical instrument manufacturer producing some of the first pioneering optical instruments. However, since making their first camera, Olympus has gone on to manufacture some of the innovative NDT equipment you find in several industries today. The industries they serve include medical, maritime, military, transportation, and power generation. They are also committed to high-quality manufacturing and an internationally recognized corporate management system. These systems have helped them grow into an international company with several offices and subsidiaries worldwide. Olympus’s reputation for research and development is probably the biggest, considering they’ve been doing it for this long. 

• Popular Products: Ultrasonic scanners and flaw detectors, endoscopes and video scopes, thickness gauges, transducers and probes, XRD and XRF analyzers. 

• Recommend Reason: Over a century in the industry gives them huge credibility, and their innovativeness makes them recommendable. 

3. NDT-KITS

• Headquarters: Hong Kong, China

• Company Background: With a pioneering ability and innovative prowess, NDT-KITS has, since its establishment over thirty years ago, been at the forefront of providing inspection solutions for the non-destructive industry. They’ve perfected their advanced manufacturing method by designing and manufacturing several bespoke, customer-centered solutions for their teeming customers nationally and globally. NDT-KITS is well-invested in research and development, committing up to 10% of its revenue. This approach has enabled them to serve many industries, including power generation, electronics, energy, transportation, maritime, and automotive. NDT-KITS also has a highly qualified workforce of engineers and technicians, and doctorate holders, making up a high percentage of their staff strength. This highly qualified workforce results from the abundance of expertise and professionals in China, where they are strategically located, giving them a competitive price advantage over other manufacturers.  

• Popular Products: Ultrasonic scanners, thickness gauges, flaw detectors, probes, calibration blocks, and transducers.

• Recommend Reason: Their competitive prices, excellent product quality, highly qualified workforce, investment in R&D, and an advanced manufacturing process makes them commendable.  

4. Zetec

• Headquarters: Washington, US

• Company Background: For over 50 years, Zetec has been considered one of the leading non-destructive testing equipment manufacturers. Established in 1968, Zetec began its journey from a small office in Washington in the US, manufacturing what seemed like a small eddy current inspection device at the time. This small piece of equipment won Zetec its first government contract and has since continued to grow its portfolio of products. Zetec makes innovative inspection solutions for many industries, including the oil and gas industries, manufacturing, rail transportation, power generation, and maritime. Their vision is to make the world safer and provide cost-effective inspection solutions to their customers for more control and higher levels of insight. 

• Popular Products: Eddy current inspection equipment, ultrasonic scanners, flaw detectors, and thickness gauges. 

• Recommend Reason: Their extensive industry experience and various industry applications make them recommendable. 

5. Jireh

• Headquarters: Edmonton, Canada 

• Company Background: At the company’s inception in 1981, Jireh Industries was set up as a manufacturer of bespoke automation equipment. However, the company has grown to include other products and services in its portfolio, including manual and automatic scanners for NDT inspection. Also, it has expanded its product application from just the oil and gas industry to others like automotive, aerospace, maritime, and electronics checking components like boilers, vessels, and tanks with its scanners. But that’s not all. Jireh’s production process incorporates design, engineering, manufacturing, assembling, packaging, and shipment into one homogenous seamless system. This process has helped Jireh produce high-quality equipment coupled with acquiring the coveted ISO 9001:2015 certification that assures their customers of their commitment to quality manufacturing. 

• Popular Products: Automatic and manual ultrasonic scanners, Pit gauges, and Dent gauges

• Recommend Reason: A wholesome manufacturing system and a commitment to quality manufacturing make them recommendable. 

➤ Related Article:  Zetec vs. Jireh: Comparison of Ultrasonic Scanner

➤ Related Article: Flawtech vs. NDT-KITS: Comparison of Flawed Specimen

➤ Related Article: Top 10 Ultrasonic Transducer Manufacturers

II. How to Choose a Reliable Ultrasonic Scanner Manufacturer?

Choosing a reliable ultrasonic scanner manufacturer can be a daunting task. Since buying an ultrasonic scanner requires a significant amount of money, you wouldn’t want to waste your budget with the trial-and-error method of finding a reliable supplier. You can consider the following essential factors to help you choose a reliable one.

• Research how solid the ultrasonic scanner manufacturer is.

As a first step, you might want to ensure the ultrasonic scanner manufacturer is solid by conducting diligent research. During this research, things you might want to know about this manufacturer include things like the company’s investor base, creditworthiness, their year of existence if they have a personal facility, their number of successful order delivery, the company’s headquarters, and their company’s website. For instance, if the company website is updated, this information can give you much information about its reliability. 

• Check out the quality of the ultrasonic scanners.

Their ultrasonic scanners’ quality is another metric of reliability. A product without quality simply means the manufacturer is also not quality or reliable. You might have to spend the time required for productive work to sort out quality issues for the ultrasonic scanner. Avoid these kinds of manufacturers by all means. 

• Ask for the price and warranty.

Price is undoubtedly the first point of consideration for most individuals and even companies, as there is usually a budget based on a cost-to-benefit analysis. However, asking for the price involves more than the available budget. Instead, it involves the required level of accuracy, automation, and digitization needed to carry out a specific inspection operation successfully. Also, the warranty you can get also shows a level of reliability of the manufacturing in terms of taking responsibility for inherent product defects over a certain period. A manufacturer that cannot give these two things is not reliable.  

• Determine how much support you can get.

Frustrations can set in if a manufacturer does not respond adequately to customers’ inquiries before, during, and after the delivery of the product to the customer. More importantly, the customer’s frustration might be doubled if there is a glitch in the scanner during operation that leads to a significant downtime due to the inability of the manufacturer to give enough support. Hence, always seek out manufacturers that promptly attend to your inquiries.

• Know about the delivery time.

The delivery time for orders is yet another critical factor that indicates the manufacturer’s reliability. Manufacturers with shorter turnaround times are usually very reliable and can help you meet your inspection objectives in the shortest time possible. 

• Look through the customer reviews on both suppliers and products.

Customer feedback can help you determine how reliable the manufacturer has been to past customers. A reliable manufacturer must meet at least 60% of past customers’ requirements as a rule of thumb. Hence, a minimum of an overall three-star rating is required for any manufacturer to be reliable. 

III. How do I Select the Best Ultrasonic Scanner?

Selecting the best ultrasonic scanner often starts with considering your inspection objective, which helps you analyze the device against your requirements. Here are the most important criteria to consider when selecting the best ultrasonic scanner for your inspections needs.

• Application: The type of material you wish to scan, the environment, access, and material geometry are some of the factors that determine how you view applications. Not all scanners will operate well in specific environments, determining your selection of an ultrasonic scanner. 
• Accuracy: Some applications require the highest form of accuracy that basic ultrasonic scanners might not give you. You might have to consider if a digital, highly automated scanner will be appropriate. Hence, evaluating the accuracy required for an inspection operation is very critical.
• Reliability: While you are considering other factors like accuracy, the scanner’s reliability is equally vital. You do not want a scanner that breaks down after a few weeks. An unreliable scanner is a waste of funds and shouldn’t be tolerated. 
• Cost: Certain ultrasonic scanners often come with unreasonable prices due to overstuffing functions. Using scanners with high automation where only manual scanners are required can be very expensive. 
• Delivery Date: Ensure that you choose an ultrasonic scanner with a shorter delivery date, as this will help you achieve your inspection objective pretty quickly. 

IV. Import Budget and Quality Ultrasonic Scanner from China

It is no secret that China is a rapidly growing industrial economy. Due to government policies and support, Chinese manufacturers are among the best, with high-quality production equipment and products. China also has an abundance of specialists eager and able to contribute to the manufacturing industry, lowering production costs significantly. However, what is surprising is that most quality evaluation personnel are not taking advantage of Chinese manufacturing by buying from Chinese manufacturers with high-quality products at competitive rates.

NDT-KITS, a major manufacturer of ultrasonic testing equipment and other non-destructive testing devices, is one of these Chinese firms. They have spent over three decades developing some of the most revolutionary NDT devices on the market, beginning with developing the first digital flaw detection equipment in China in the 1980s. NDT-KITS is also well-known for its significant investment in R&D. Its highly qualified and experienced team of engineers and technicians is responsible for producing some of the most practical industrial testing solutions.

Getting your ultrasonic scanners from NDT-KITS gives you many advantages, one of which is excellent customer support. They offer a fantastic customer support service dedicated and available to reply to customers’ inquiries before, during, and after an order is delivered. However, their main advantage is their inexpensive pricing, unrivaled by their American or European rivals of comparable quality. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, understanding your inspection requirements is the beginning of getting the best ultrasonic scanners for your inspection needs. However, a reliable supplier that can meet your requirements is often considered the best. With criteria that include pricing, accuracy, application, reliability, and short delivery date, engaging a Chinese ultrasonic scanner supplier like NDT-KITS is often your best. The reason is that NDT-KITS is strategically located to reduce the production cost, which makes it possible to give competitive rates for their ultrasonic scanners. You have all the information you need to select a suitable ultrasonic scanner. So, what’s your next move?