The Ultrasonic Immersion currently called “NIPSCAN” was born while both Johan and Robert were working for a company named NUCON IPS based in Amsterdam , the Netherlands. This was the ultrasonic Inspection and Plant Services division of Nuclear Constructing. IPS was mainly concerned with the design ,implementation of equipment for steam generator tube inspections. IPS designed UT probes, UT electronics like pulsers, receivers, remote robot and manipulation sytems for inside the radio active steam generator, UT data acquisition and UT data analysis software. The designs and equipment and software were highly specialized and could only operated by the engineers who had designed it. As such we traveled all over the world. In summer and winter, when Nuclear Power plants are running at full capacity for heating or airconditioning, we had time available to develop other products outside the steam generator test equipment world.

The first question for an Ultrasonic Immersion Tank came in 1990 form TSE, Turbine Support Europe, in Tilburg the Netherlands. Menno Abendroth was one of the immersion tank operator technicians for TSE in that time. This company is now part of Chromalloy.

Inside NUCON IPS, Robert van Amsterdam was the innovating software engineer for the project and myself, Johan Zwart the mechanical and electrical designer. The product was successfully received and soon a second unit with liftplatform and three jaw chuck was ordered by Lufthansa followed by a third unit for GE Varig. The name we came up with was NIPSCAN, Nuclear Inspection Plant Services. The interest in the machine was that high that within NUCON IPS a subdivision was formed. Robert van Amsterdam moved into that subdivision called “ NIPSCAN group”.

In 1993 NUCON IPS decided to start a company in State College in the USA. This company was named NUSON, Nuclear Sonics. Johan Zwart moved to the USA in the function of senior engineer and worked mainly on development of minature rotating UT probes for the US navy. In that same time NIPSCAN systems were installed at United Airlines in San Fransisco and GEAE Containerplace in Cincinnati. In the USA, because of the intimate familiarity, Johan Zwart did the installation, the GE required yearly calibration, and service work for these companies.

In 1994 another NUCON engineer made modifications to the turntable seal, the only mechanical modication done to the NIPSCAN since its inception. Unfortunately it did prove a lemon since most customer have to replace the seal every year.

The software was continiously improved by Robert. The mechanical design hardly changed.

In 1994 Robert van Amsterdam and Johan Zwart retrofitted a heavy duty ( 2500Kg) Bar testing machine and a Titanium thin wall tube UT system for Midhani in Hyderabad in India. Modifications were made to the Z-axis tube of the bar tester and to tube guidance and propulsion of the thin wall tube testing system.Before this the machine did not work. Three weeks later the customer did accept the machine.

In 1996 NUCON and NUSON were sold to STORK / RTD and the “NIPSCAN GROUP” including its employees, Robert v Amsterdam, Andre v Vugt and Menno Abendroth (then sales manager) was sold to AIMS NDT BV.

The new owners ( STORK / RTD) did not support Johan Zwart request for a Green Card (to obtain residency in the USA). This prompted Johan to leave STORK / RTD to start his own company ZW-Art Engineering. A Dutch registered company which operated in the USA. It designed NIPSCAN related equipment for GEAE, (WEBSCANNER) and several other UT and Eddy current probeholders. It also designed the heavy duty turntable for the NIPSCAN for XAEC.

During a service visit in 1996 at GEAE in Cincinnati, GEAE showed interest in an upgrade of a TESTEC UT immersion tank. The separate software and hardware suppliers were unable to make a workable product. This tank has a liftplatform and was originally designed and intended for the GE 90 parts. It never worked and GEAE wanted to scrap the machine. Robert modified the original NIPSCAN software ( they already owned two normal NIPSCANs) to accept the liftplatform and ZW-Art Engineering retrofitted the machine with a new Z-axis, gimbal, all the wiring, electronics, computer, motors. The machine was a great success and the customer very happy. The retrofit was designed and implemented in 5 months.

After that succesfull project GEAE made a request for an automated Eddy Current Scanner. ZW-Art Engineering designed and manufactured the hardware, electronics and wiring in State College USA and Robert va Amsterdam wrote the software. The machine named EzEddy is sold by ITI to many customers, (to name a few, GEAE Cincinnati, GE Varig, THAI Air, SNECMA, GE Wales, ANA, GE Japan, JAL, KLM ). It also sells it to AIMS for distribution at the European market. The EzEddy was designed and implemented in 6 months. Currently 22 EzEddys have been sold world wide.

In 1998 a smaller version of the EzEddy was made, the EzScan, it was meant for small airline companies and two were sold, GEAE QTC and Air India.

In 2000 ZW-Art Engineering changed its name into ZW-Art Mechatronics Inc. based in State College, USA.

ZW-Art Mechatronics Inc. and vAmsterdam software engineering is dedicated to the design, engineering and manufacturing of high tec automated inspection sytems. Every piece of equipment Robert and Johan have designed since the first NIPSCAN 1990 is still fully operatonal.