Coiled wire inspection system and method

A system for inspecting coiled wire, the system comprising:

• a wire drawer configured to draw wire from a coiled wire storage device;
• a first power feeder having a two-plane straightening device, the first power feeder disposed downstream from the wire drawer, wherein the first power feeder is configured to straighten wire received from the wire drawer;
• an ultrasonic inspection device disposed downstream from the first power feeder, the ultrasonic inspection device configured to receive straightened wire from the first power feeder and ultrasonically inspect the straightened wire for internal defects;
• a re-coiler disposed downstream from the ultrasonic inspection device, the re-coiler configured to receive inspected wire and to re-coil the inspected wire for storage;
• wherein the ultrasonic inspection device is disposed on a slide table moveable laterally relative to a feed direction of the wire such that the inspection device is moveable out of a feed path of the wire;
• further comprising a test rod, wherein the test rod includes internal defects at predetermined locations, wherein the test rod is configured for insertion into the ultrasonic inspection device when the inspection device is out of the feed path of the wire.

A method of ultrasonically inspecting a coiled wire, the method comprising:

• unspooling wire from a coil of wire at a storage device and defining unspooled wire;
• feeding the unspooled wire through a wire shaping and conditioning device and defining conditioned wire;
• feeding the conditioned wire through a first power feeder, wherein the first power feeder includes driven feed rolls that actively pushes and/or pulls the wire therethrough and drives the wire through the system;
• straightening the conditioned wire via the first power feeder and defining straightened wire;
• feeding the straightened wire through an ultrasonic inspection device;
• performing ultrasonic inspection of an interior of the straightened wire to detect internal defects of the straightened wire via rotation of transducers around the wire as the wire is being fed;
• feeding the straightened wire through a second power feeder disposed downstream from the ultrasonic inspection device, wherein the second power feeder includes driven feed rolls that actively pushes and/or pulls the wire therethrough and drives the wire through the system;
• after performing ultrasonic inspection of the straightened wire, re-coiling the straightened wire via a re-coiler.

A method for inspecting wire, the method comprising:

• unspooling a continuous length of wire from a first coil of wire, wherein the first coil of wire is a coil of raw wire;
• after unspooling the wire, advancing the raw wire through a wire shaping and conditioning device that conditions the wire to a tighter tolerance relative to the raw wire, and conditioning the wire in the wire shaping and conditioning device, wherein the wire is conditioned to a tighter tolerance relative to the raw wire, wherein the wire shaping and conditioning device converts the raw wire to conditioned wire, wherein the conditioned wire has a tighter tolerance relative to the raw wire;
• after conditioning the conditioned wire by the wire shaping and conditioning device, advancing the conditioned wire through a power feeder, and feeding the conditioned wire through the power feeder and straightening the conditioned wire at the power feeder, wherein the power feeder includes driven feed rolls that actively pushes and/or pulls the conditioned wire therethrough and drives the conditioned wire through the system;
• wherein the wire shaping and conditioning device that provides the conditioned wire to the power feeder is disposed upstream of the power feeder, and the power feeder is disposed downstream of the wire shaping and conditioning device;
• after feeding the conditioned wire via the power feeder and straightening the conditioned wire, performing ultrasonic inspection on the straightened and conditioned wire at an ultrasonic inspection device, which is positioned downstream from the power feeder, of a lengthwise portion of the conditioned wire and inspecting the interior of the lengthwise portion for internal defects, wherein the lengthwise portion of the conditioned wire remains part of a continuous length of wire;
• re-coiling the continuous length of the conditioned wire after inspection at the ultrasonic inspection device and defining a second coil of wire, wherein the second coil of wire is a coil of conditioned and ultrasonically inspected wire.