Metal AM company Sintavia, LLC announced its acquisition of QC Laboratories, Inc., a Florida-based non-destructive testing (NDT) services company. The acquisition will enable Sintavia to expand and advance its NDT capabilities for commercial aerospace applications, especially for surface finish conformance testing.

QC Labs was founded in 1965 and over the years has become recognized as a leader in the supply of NDT testing services for the aerospace and defense industries. The company specializes in a number of testing operations, including Radiographic (X-ray and Gamma), Fluorescent Penetrant, Ultrasonic, Magnetic Particle and Eddy Current inspections.

With over 50 years under its belt, the company has also amassed approvals for these processes from a number of manufacturing leaders, including Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Cessna, Eaton, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Rolls-Royce.

“For more than 50 years, QC Labs has been trusted by critical industries, including Aerospace & Defense, to deliver high quality NDT services,” commented John Ahow, QC Labs’ General Manager. “It is very exciting to apply these same services to the developing field of additive manufacturing through Sintavia.”

The acquisition of the NDT company by AM expert Sintavia will provide the latter with increased NDT capabilities, advancing its existing offering for the commercial aerospace market. Though many terms of the purchase were not disclosed, the companies have revealed that, going forward, QC Labs will operate as a stand-alone subsidiary of Sintavia.

“We have worked with QC Labs for a number of years to develop surface finish inspection metrics that are relevant for the additive manufacturing industry,” said Doug Hedges, Sintavia’s President and Chief Technology Officer. “Today’s announcement is a natural extension of this same process, and we are looking forward to deepening the relationship with QC Labs as we continue to develop acceptable NDT metrics for production AM components.”

The acquisition can be seen as Sintavia’s latest step in its growth journey, which was propelled ahead earlier this year with the opening of a new 55,000 square foot additive manufacturing facility in Hollywood, Florida (where QC Labs is headquartered).