How Digital Ultrasonic Gauges Are Improving Industrial Maintenance
If you have been in industrial equipment maintenance for long, you’ll know how drastically things have transformed today.
Even some 7-8 years back, most checks were manual. Technicians would just carry calipers, a file, a torchlight, and that’s it. If the structure to be measured was welded shut, the job would get more tiresome. The lack of efficient instruments sometimes made readings inaccurate, irrespective of the trouble one had to go through to derive them.
Fast forward to 2025 and how everything has evolved!
Manufacturing units and other industries are working at scale with an unprecedented speed that couldn’t be imagined in the past. Equipment failure at any point can bring a complete shut down of operations, leading to the need for efficient inspection and maintenance.
Ultrasonic thickness testing is one such area, where accuracy and speed go hand-in-hand today, thanks to the modern digital thickness checking devices.
What Are Ultrasonic Thickness Gauges?
In simple terms, these are tools to measure material thickness in industrial environments. These instruments use sound waves to check wall or other thickness in a non-destructive manner.
Why non-destructive? It’s because for welded equipment, previously, you needed to cut through or dismantle the entire system to measure thickness. Now with the ultrasonic industrial thickness checker, you can do it without damage so the equipment stays intact and downtime reduces to a great extent.
Traditional Vs Smarter Thickness Gauges
The basic working principle of the device is sending ultrasonic waves into the material to be tested, tracking the echoes and deriving measurements from the distance traveled.
However, the non-destructive thickness testing process isn’t too new. It’s the devices that have evolved over time. Traditional ones were mostly analog or simple digital devices using pulse echoes only. These didn’t have internal memories or wave displays and relied on operator skills to a great degree.
But today’s handheld thickness measuring instruments, like the Metrix range we offer at Safeguard Solutions, are smarter, end-to-end digital with multiple echo modes and data logging features.
For example, the UTM 5 is a compact wall thickness measuring tool that performs quite well in routine field checks. Wider range models, like the UTM 9, measure thickness of materials available in fabrication stores
The UTG 27 units are ideal as tools to measure tank wall thickness in heavy industrial environments. More advanced models, like the UTM 90CT, support A scan and B scan viewing, helping inspection teams get better clarity in readings. There are also step blocks for calibration, which are essential for reliable measurement. With the help of step blocks as an essential feature, technicians can now calibrate the instrument before using it to measure thickness.
Areas Where The Thickness Measuring Tool Fits Perfectly
While the ultrasonic thickness checking device is now an essential tool in many industrial environments, we can shortlist a few areas, where these are almost indispensable, along with the ideal instrument.
| Areas Of Application | Ideal Instrument Model | Reasons To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Oil And Gas Processing | UTG 27 | 1. Checks corrosion 2. Perfect for outdoors 3. Inspects pipeline and tank materials |
| Offshore & Marine | UTM 9 | 1. Perfect for coated surfaces 2. Stable ship hull readings 3. Suitable for saline conditions |
| Manufacturing Units & Fabrication Workshops | UTM 5/UTM 5A Plus | 1. Compact size for regular checks 2. Inspect sheet metal, castings, and machined parts |
| Infrastructure & Construction | UTM 9/UTG 27 | Ideal for inspecting structural components, steel beams, silos, tanks, etc. |
| Chemical Processing & Power Plants | UTM 90CT | 1. A scan and B scan views 2. Ideal for inspecting boilers, reactors, and heat exchangers |
Final Suggestion
So the next time you wonder, “how to check pipe wall thickness without cutting through the material?”, you know you have the right device to rely on.
At Safeguard Solutions, you can get an entire range of instruments to check structural thickness of industrial equipment without dismantling or cutting through the walls. You can collect accuracy data faster and ensure regular monitoring to keep the systems in operating conditions always.
We have always focussed our efforts into providing solutions that help you scale without compromising on accuracy or precision. With our Metrix range of ultrasonic thickness gauges, we maintain that reliability and trust that you have on us. Connect with our sales team for any queries that you have or share your project specifications so we can suggest a solution that aligns with your needs.
