In the beginning, (before we even had a company) we were just a group of technical people with lots of experience in the energy industry and a different way of looking at problems.

In 1984 a pipe inspection company requested we develop and manufacture a high speed ultrasonic inspection unit for the OCTG (oilfield pipe) market. At that time ultrasonic inspection of OCTG material was just a baby... in fact, truth be told, it was probably still in the womb.

Our people worked diligently to produce solid concepts and extremely innovative ideas, as this equipment was to become the cornerstone of a new company... Scan Systems Corp.

In 1984, our innovative ideas were just too far ahead of the technical curve. Unfortunately, other vendors that would provide vital technology we would depend upon were stretched to their technical limits by our demands. The PC was still a novelty to the world in general and Windows hadn't even released version 1.0 yet. In other cases the solutions we needed from others had not even been conceived of yet, let alone fully developed. Ultimately, we ran out of time (and money) and were unable to bring our innovation to reality.

It wasn't for another 10 years that computer technology and other specific mechanical devices would catch up with our original ideas to where our original concepts could actually be fully developed. However, during that 10 year period, we did invent and introduce a bevy of novel ideas that have eventually found their way into the marketplace of today.

During the development and testing of that original unit, we realized how difficult it was to locate someone who could produce a quality, precision, calibration piece for us to standardize the electronics of the unit for critical testing.

At that time API began specifying more precise calibration procedures and oil companies' QA departments were beginning to implement more demanding requirements for calibration joints. Soon the industry would begin to demand multiple calibration notches be cut on the OD and the ID surfaces of a single joint of material coming from the actual production run of any given inspection job.

Since these new specifications called for the calibration piece to be a joint of pipe from the actual production run, it was impossible to put flaws on the ID surface of the material without cutting the tube open and "killing the joint" (a very expensive requirement). That was when our engineers tackled a portable method for cutting precision notches in the field... not just on the outside, but on the inside diameter as well, without ruining the material being used as a calibration piece.

In 1986 we succeeded in building a revolutionary product that remains the standard today for cutting precision flaws in the field, on the OD or the ID surface of the material. Our first patented portable Notch Master Unit was put to work cutting precision calibration notches in pipe for all inspection companies in Houston, Texas as required.

The actual technology used in the cutting was relatively old. EDM (electrical discharge machining) had been around for decades. However, to get inside a piece of pipe without cutting it open was a far different matter. Our proprietary DC power supply was unique for our application but the cutting head was what made the equipment so dynamic.

The system operates similar to a hydraulic brake system, wherein we use a precision micrometer to displace fluid within a "Master Cylinder" reservoir that will cause pressure on the opposite end, which in turn will force a "Slave Cylinder" to move up and down with the EDM electrode material attached. When the electrode material gets close to the metal surface a spark occurs and tiny bits of metal are vaporized when cooled by the flushing fluid (principle of EDM). After millions of small sparks over a short period of time (a few seconds to a few minutes), a final notch is produced to predictable and precise dimensions.

In 1988 we received our first patent on the Notch Master product and began offering notch cutting and standards manufacturing as a service. It was then that Scan Systems was formed. Over the next 10 years we became the standard in the pipe inspection industry for manufacturing notches in OCTG material being inspected. All over the world our Notch Master unit was eagerly received and continues today, to be well respected by all major QA departments throughout the world.

From those early-day struggles we travel to the present... Today, we have a full service facility that manufactures all types of calibration standards for all type of pipe and metal industries. Not only EDM machining but a complete line of manual machine tools are also employed to produce all types of standards to the most demanding specifications. Our forte is still working with difficult set-ups and in particular small ID applications but our capabilities have expanded to make us your one-stop shop for machining and calibration samples. All standards produced are certified and traceable back the NIST for unquestioned integrity.

In addition to our standards business we offer optional equipment, repair parts, operating supplies, and unmatched technical support on all of our patented Notch Master equipment around the world. Local and World-Wide support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if necessary.