Borescope vs. Endoscope: What’s Best for Your Industrial Inspections?

The terms "borescope" and "endoscope" are often used interchangeably, leading to confusion about what they are and how they should be used. While they might look similar – both are long, flexible cameras used to see inside things – they are designed for completely different environments.

The fundamental difference is simple: borescopes are built for industrial inspections, while endoscopes are medical devices used for examining the human body. Choosing the right one for your industrial needs is a critical decision.

What is a Borescope?

An industrial borescope is a tool specifically engineered for the demanding world of industrial inspection. Its primary purpose is to provide a visual inspection of machinery, components, and infrastructure in environments that are often dirty, oily, or abrasive.

To handle these conditions, a borescope's construction is exceptionally rugged and durable, built to withstand the physical demands of industrial use. Its key characteristics are also tailored to this purpose:

• The probes are typically long and robust, designed to navigate complex mechanical systems like turbine engines or industrial pipes.
• The camera at the tip is accompanied by a powerful light source to illuminate dark spaces, ensuring a clear image.
• Many borescopes also feature articulation, allowing the camera to be steered around corners or obstacles to get a precise view of a defect.

These features make the borescope the ideal tool for checking for cracks, corrosion, and foreign objects in a non-destructive manner.

What is an Endoscope?

In contrast to a borescope, an endoscope is a highly specialized medical instrument. Its sole purpose is to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions inside the human body, such as during a colonoscopy or arthroscopy. Since it is used in a sterile, biological environment, an endoscope is designed with a completely different set of priorities.

Its key characteristics reflect its medical use:

• The probe is incredibly flexible and often much smaller in diameter than a borescope, allowing it to navigate the delicate and intricate pathways within the body.
• The materials used are biocompatible, meaning they will not cause harm to a living organism.
• They can be thoroughly sterilized to prevent cross-contamination between patients.
• The focus of the camera is on providing exceptionally high-resolution images of soft tissues, organs, and other biological structures, which is a different imaging requirement than that of a metal pipe or engine.

When to Choose a Borescope for Industrial Use?

Choosing a borescope for industrial inspections is not just a matter of convenience; it’s a matter of practicality and safety. Borescopes are specifically designed to excel in tough industrial applications, providing reliable performance where other tools would fail.

Wide-Ranging Industrial Applications

A borescope is the ideal tool for a wide range of industrial tasks.  It is commonly used to inspect complex machinery, such as engines and turbines, to check for signs of wear, cracks, or foreign object debris without the need for costly disassembly.

Manufacturers also use them for quality control, for instance, by inspecting the inside of a casting to look for hidden voids or to verify the integrity of a weld from the inside. In civil infrastructure, borescopes are essential for examining the interior of pipelines and HVAC systems to check for blockages, corrosion, or structural damage.

An Excellent Choice

Borescopes are considered superior for the above applications because of their specialized design. Their durability is paramount, as they can withstand exposure to oil, heat, and sharp metal edges, environments that would quickly damage a delicate endoscope.

Furthermore, their powerful articulation allows the camera tip to navigate complex machinery, providing a clear view of defects that would be impossible to see with a rigid or non-articulated tool.

Finally, borescopes are equipped with specialized features for non-biological materials, such as high-intensity lights for illuminating dark, industrial spaces and probes designed for a variety of material types. These features ensure the tool is well-suited for the specific demands of an industrial setting.

Why You Should NOT Use an Endoscope for Industrial Inspections

Using an endoscope for an industrial inspection is a serious mistake that can lead to damaging the equipment and compromising the inspection itself.

Risk of Damage

Endoscopes are built for the sterile, controlled environment of a hospital, not the harsh reality of a factory floor. Their delicate probes and biocompatible materials are not designed to withstand contact with rough metal surfaces, sharp edges, or exposure to industrial fluids like oil and grease. Forcing an endoscope into an engine or a pipe can easily tear its outer sheath, bend the probe, or ruin the intricate optics, resulting in a costly repair or replacement.

Sanitation

Endoscopes are designed to be thoroughly sterilized for medical use, which is a very different process from simply wiping a tool clean of industrial grime. Trying to clean an endoscope to medical standards after it has been exposed to industrial dirt and chemicals is nearly impossible and makes it unsuitable for any future medical use.

Limited Features

Endoscopes typically lack the powerful light source needed to illuminate a dark engine cavity, and their flexible probes often lack the rigid articulation necessary to navigate complex machinery. Their cameras are optimized for soft tissue and do not provide the sharp, high-contrast images needed to identify hairline cracks on metal surfaces.

Safety Concerns

Using an endoscope in an industrial setting creates a risk of cross-contamination. A tool designed for the human body could carry biological contaminants that you would not want to introduce into a clean industrial process or product. Ultimately, using an endoscope for an industrial job is both inefficient and inappropriate, as the tool is simply not designed for the task.

Conclusion

While borescopes and endoscopes may look similar at a glance, they are fundamentally different tools designed for distinct purposes.

A borescope is a rugged, durable device built to withstand the demanding conditions of industrial inspections, while an endoscope is a delicate, sterile instrument for medical use. The two are not interchangeable.

Attempting to use an endoscope for an industrial inspection can lead to damage to the tool, inadequate inspection results due to a lack of industrial features, and serious safety and sanitation issues.

Ultimately, the right tool is always the one designed for the specific job at hand. For any industrial inspection, from checking the internal parts of a car engine to inspecting a long pipeline, you should always choose a borescope. It is the only way to ensure a safe, efficient, and effective inspection that provides the reliable data you need.