Multi-axis X-ray manipulators
Custom multi-axis manipulators for X-ray & CT
Overview
Custom-built multi-axis manipulators are the precision motion behind an industrial X-ray or CT cell, positioning the part, the source and the detector so inspection runs at production throughput with minimal human intervention and minimum radiation exposure. The manufacturer builds them to the task, from small-part stages to heavy-duty rigs for objects over two to three tonnes and more than ten metres long, and wall-mounted frames for high-energy heads where floor space is scarce. The defence relevance is direct: flame-proof motor versions are built specifically for the inspection of ammunition and propellants, where an ordinary drive is a hazard, and high-energy configurations reach up to 15 MeV for the computed tomography of thick, dense munitions and composite structures. A seven-axis variant handles real-time radiography of long cylindrical composite parts to around a millimetre of accuracy along their full length. Energy ranges span 160 kV to 15 MeV with automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes and built-in synchronisation, engineered for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers and owned outright by the operator that fields them.
Precision X-ray motion built to the task, including flame-proof rigs for ammunition and propellant inspection and up-to-15 MeV configurations for the CT of thick, dense munitions.
Capabilities
- Custom-built for precise positioning with minimal human intervention and minimum radiation exposure at production-line throughput
- Flame-proof motor versions specifically for the inspection of ammunition and propellants
- Heavy-duty rigs for objects over 2 – 3 tonnes and more than 10 m in length, plus wall-mounted frames for high-energy heads where space is limited
- High-energy CT manipulator to 15 MeV with a PaxScan 4343HE flat-panel detector for thick, dense structures
- Seven-axis manipulator for real-time radiography of long cylindrical composite parts, 200 mm dia × up to 5,000 mm length at ~1 mm accuracy
- Automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes with built-in synchronisation for precision and minimum exposures
- Accommodates X-ray tubes and flat-panel detectors, engineered for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers
Specifications
| Type | Multi-axis X-ray / CT manipulators |
| Energy range | Available under controlled technical briefing |
| Object size | Available under controlled technical briefing |
| Defence build | Flame-proof motors for ammunition & propellant inspection |
| Small-part stage | Available under controlled technical briefing |
| 7-axis (composites) | Available under controlled technical briefing |
| High-energy CT | Available under controlled technical briefing |
| Modes | Automatic / semi-automatic / manual |
| Origin | Independent / non-aligned |
Why Unstrat: the difference
Unstrat is the authorised global representative and distributor for this capability. It is already in service with a track record behind it, so you are buying something that has done the job elsewhere, not funding a first attempt. You are not the test bed.
Independent, non-aligned origin, with no political exposure to any major-power ecosystem.
One accountable team from first briefing through delivery and in-region sustainment.
Flame-proof versions for munitions inspection and up-to-15 MeV CT, engineered for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers.
How it reaches you
Related capability
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Procurement & sustainment
Classification and the end-user-certificate chain are confirmed before this capability is represented to your market.
Sourced from an independent manufacturer: no major-power disclosure rules or political conditions.
A single team responsible from first briefing through delivery: not a chain of foreign primes to integrate yourself.
Lifecycle support and operator training delivered in-region, building capability that outlasts the initial deployment.
Questions buyers ask
What is an X-ray manipulator?
It is the precision motion inside an X-ray or CT cell: the stages and frames that position the part, the source and the detector so an inspection runs repeatably at production throughput with minimal human intervention and minimum radiation exposure. Ours are built to the task, from small-part stages with 650 mm of X and Y travel and a Ø400 turntable up to heavy-duty rigs for objects over two to three tonnes and more than ten metres long.
Who supplies custom multi-axis X-ray manipulators?
Very few vendors sell one at all. ZEISS, Comet Yxlon and Nikon publish manipulator specifications inside their own cabinets and none of them offers the motion as a separate product. The NDT Systems House builds manipulators to the requirement, accommodating X-ray tubes and flat-panel detectors, for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers, across 160 kV to 15 MeV. If your part fits a catalogue cabinet, buy the cabinet; the comparison only becomes real when it does not.
See: Custom rigs and energy rangesWhy the majors do not sell the manipulator
X-ray manipulator for ammunition inspection
An ordinary drive near propellant is an ignition source, which is why flame-proof motor versions exist in our range specifically for the inspection of ammunition and propellants. None of ZEISS, Comet Yxlon or Nikon publishes a flame-proof drive option, because their market is castings and electronics. Pair that with automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes and built-in synchronisation to keep exposures to a minimum.
See: Flame-proof configurationsThe row a defence buyer should read twice
What is a 15 MeV CT manipulator?
At accelerator energies the manipulator stops being a table and becomes structural steel in a shielded vault. Our high-energy CT configuration works to 15 MeV with a PaxScan 4343HE flat-panel detector and a Ø500 turntable, positioning thick, dense structures against a beam that will penetrate them. None of the cabinet vendors in our comparison publishes anything above 450 kV.
Real-time radiography of long cylindrical composite parts
That geometry defeats most cabinets. Our seven-axis manipulator handles real-time radiography of parts 200 mm in diameter and up to 5,000 mm long at about 1 mm accuracy along the full length, carrying roughly 200 kg. ZEISS publishes nothing beyond a 2,000 mm maximum height, Comet Yxlon nothing beyond an 1,100 mm envelope, and Nikon does not publish this class at all.
X-ray positioning rig for parts weighing two to three tonnes
Heavy-duty rigs handle objects over two to three tonnes and more than ten metres in length, across diameters from 10 to 3,000 mm. For context on where cabinets stop: Comet Yxlon publishes a 100 kg sample limit, ZEISS BOSELLO MAX 80 to 250 kg depending on configuration, and Nikon 15 to 50 kg. Above those figures you are building a rig rather than buying a cabinet.
Wall-mounted X-ray frame where floor space is limited
Wall-mounted frames are built for high-energy heads in facilities where the floor is already spoken for, and they are part of the same custom range as the small-part stages and the heavy rigs. What we do not publish is a maximum payload for those frames, so treat it as a design question for the specific vault rather than a catalogue figure.
Can a manipulator be retrofitted into an existing inspection bunker?
Often yes, and it is usually cheaper than a new cell. Our manipulators accommodate X-ray tubes and flat-panel detectors and are engineered for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers, with automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes and built-in synchronisation. Where the review layer also needs modernising, the Imaging Suite integrates with any detector and can drive manipulators for automated inspection.
See: Retrofit into existing vaultsSoftware that drives the motion
Should we buy the manipulator with the system or separately?
With the system, if a catalogue cabinet fits your parts, because the integration is done and warranted. Separately, when the part decides the geometry: long composite tubes, filled munitions, three-tonne castings, or an existing vault that needs new motion. Buying separately also lets an operator refit a bunker they already own rather than replace a whole cell to get modern handling.
Our national ammunition plant needs to X-ray filled rounds. What changes in the specification compared with a casting cell?
The drive, the frame and the building. Motors near propellant have to be flame-proof, which is a configuration we build specifically for ammunition and propellant inspection and which no cabinet vendor in our comparison publishes. The frame has to carry the object mass, and the whole rig is usually designed to sit inside a concrete bunker rather than a lead cabinet, with high-energy configurations to 15 MeV where the items are thick and dense.
See: Flame-proof and high-energy buildsWhat the cabinet vendors do not offer
Are these rigs already built and working, or engineered to order from a blank sheet?
They are built rigs, not concepts: flame-proof motor versions for the inspection of ammunition and propellants, high-energy CT frames working to 15 MeV with a PaxScan 4343HE detector, and a seven-axis manipulator for real-time radiography of long cylindrical composite parts. Each installation is configured to the part, which is a different thing from being invented for it, and the operator owns the rig outright once it is fielded.
How do we compare a custom manipulator against the motion built into a ZEISS or Comet Yxlon cabinet?
Not on axis count, which is the trap. A UX20 gives you five axes and 100 kg, a BOSELLO MAX 5 + 2 CNC axes and up to 250 kg optionally, an XT H four or five axes and 15 to 50 kg. Those are good numbers inside their envelopes. Compare instead on whether your heaviest, longest or most hazardous part can physically be positioned at all, and on what the vault has to look like around it.
What positioning accuracy do you publish, and how does that compare with a metrology CT specification?
We publish about 1 mm along the full length on the seven-axis composites rig and do not publish an accuracy figure for the other configurations, which is a gap worth raising at tender. Nikon publishes MPE(SD) of 9 + L/50 µm on the MCT225, verified to VDI/VDE 2630. That is a dimensional metrology specification on a metrology CT system, not a manipulator positioning tolerance, and the two are not interchangeable.
We need one supplier for the vault, the motion and the source at accelerator energies. Does that exist?
It is rare, which is why most high-energy cells end up as an integration project across three vendors. Our manipulators span 160 kV to 15 MeV and are designed for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers, the non-destructive testing line supplies accelerators from 0.95 to 15 MeV with detectors and software, and the imaging suite runs the acquisition and review. One accountable team across all three is the point, not a longer catalogue.
See: Manipulators to 15 MeVAccelerators and imaging chainWhere inspection sits in a national programme
How is operator radiation exposure minimised on a large open rig?
By taking the operator out of the exposure geometry and by taking fewer shots. Our manipulators are built for precise positioning with minimal human intervention, and automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes with built-in synchronisation reduce the number of exposures needed to get a usable image. Anti-collision protection across all axes on the automated cell prevents the crashes that force a repeat scan. Shielding design remains a facility question set by your radiation authority.
Multi-axis X-ray manipulators: questions
What are Multi-axis X-ray manipulators?
Multi-axis X-ray manipulators are Unstrat's Land (Land Domain) capability: Custom-built multi-axis manipulators are the precision motion behind an industrial X-ray or CT cell, positioning the part, the source and the detector so inspection runs at production throughput with minimal human intervention and minimum radiation exposure. The manufacturer builds them to the task, from small-part stages to heavy-duty rigs for objects over two to three tonnes and more than ten metres long, and wall-mounted frames for high-energy heads where floor space is scarce. The defence relevance is direct: flame-proof motor versions are built specifically for the inspection of ammunition and propellants, where an ordinary drive is a hazard, and high-energy configurations reach up to 15 MeV for the computed tomography of thick, dense munitions and composite structures. A seven-axis variant handles real-time radiography of long cylindrical composite parts to around a millimetre of accuracy along their full length. Energy ranges span 160 kV to 15 MeV with automatic, semi-automatic and manual modes and built-in synchronisation, engineered for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers and owned outright by the operator that fields them.
How do Multi-axis X-ray manipulators work?
Multi-axis X-ray manipulators deliver their effect through Custom-built for precise positioning with minimal human intervention and minimum radiation exposure at production-line throughput, Flame-proof motor versions specifically for the inspection of ammunition and propellants and Heavy-duty rigs for objects over 2 – 3 tonnes and more than 10 m in length, plus wall-mounted frames for high-energy heads where space is limited, capabilities matched to the requirement and confirmed under briefing rather than published.
Who makes Multi-axis X-ray manipulators?
Multi-axis X-ray manipulators are built by The NDT Systems House, whose focus is non-destructive testing. Unstrat represents The NDT Systems House to government and enterprise buyers worldwide as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor.
Who uses Multi-axis X-ray manipulators?
Government and enterprise buyers acquire Multi-axis X-ray manipulators to address ageing fleet airworthiness across the land domain, matched to the mission and accountable to them, not to a foreign vendor's government.
Why choose Multi-axis X-ray manipulators over a major-power alternative?
Multi-axis X-ray manipulators are sourced from an independent, non-aligned manufacturer, so they carry no major-power disclosure rules, upgrade-locks or political ramifications. Concretely: Flame-proof versions for munitions inspection and up-to-15 MeV CT, engineered for cabinet systems or concrete bunkers. The capability is accountable to you, not to a foreign vendor's government and its release schedule.
How are Multi-axis X-ray manipulators procured, and where can it be exported?
Precision X-ray motion built to the task, including flame-proof rigs for ammunition and propellant inspection and up-to-15 MeV configurations for the CT of thick, dense munitions. Every engagement begins with a briefing, and export eligibility is confirmed per market under briefing rather than published. Where controlled capabilities are involved, the classification and end-user-certificate chain is confirmed first. Multi-axis X-ray manipulators are then sustained in-region by one accountable team from briefing through long-term operation.