Why Choose Cygnus

Who we are

Cygnus Instruments is a privately owned company based in the South West of the UK. The business has its original roots in the NDT of ships’ hulls but has now been selling ultrasonic testing (UT) equipment in to all industries on all continents for decades.

Our early years specialising in providing rugged and simple to use units for ship surveyors and then commercial divers has had a lasting effect on the company; every single one of the products Cygnus manufactures is extremely robust and is designed (and tested) to deal with the very harshest of environments. In addition, Reliability, Accuracy and Ease of Use together form a central philosophy that guides all our product development.

We believe we are now the true experts in delivering the very best and most accurate ultrasonic equipment that has simplicity of use at its heart.

Our Early History

In the 1970s, the periodic inspection of shipping (as demanded by IACS and all the major Classification Societies) was conducted using what we would now consider to be very heavy and outdated equipment. The founder of Cygnus was himself a shipping surveyor and, realising there was a better way, set about digitising the ultrasonic equipment based out of small offices in Dorchester in the South West of the UK.

The idea of the Cygnus-pioneered “multiple echo” UT technique was born at the same time; IACS and Class Societies immediately saw the value of a gauge that could read reliably and repeatedly “through” thick marine anti-fouling paint. And as such, the multi-echo technique is still specified by IACS today – and is still at the forefront of every Cygnus UT thickness gauge. A real testament to a true innovation that has stood the test of time.

Cygnus Today

We are very proud of the roots we have in marine inspection services; but we have grown considerably since the 1980s – and so has our range of products.

We have always believed in investing heavily in market research and product development. We believe in an entirely application-driven, user-focused approach. For this reason we put huge emphasis on listening to customer requirements and feedback.

As a result of all of our many years of research, development and continued investment, Cygnus has set and raised the standard for accurate thickness measurement devices. Our thickness gauging range today includes Echo-Echo and Single-Echo measurement modes, high-end data loggers and units with live waveform expand even further the usability of Cygnus gauges.

And we now manufacture ultrasonic thickness gauges that are utilized in almost all industries including:

Remaining within the scope of using ultrasound for inspection, we have also developed the Hatch Sure, an ultrasonic leak detector. Used predominantly for checking weathertight hatch covers on bulk carriers, it also has many other applications such as water-tight door testing and tightness testing of any closing appliances.

And lastly and most recently, Cygnus also manufactures a Flooded Member Detection unit; the UT FMD unit honours all of the Cygnus history and draws on all the lessons we have learned over many years making equipment for the toughest environments. It is hugely robust, gives extremely accurate results, is polyvalent (can be used by a diver or ROV) – and is beautifully simple to use.

Care & Quality

Cygnus is an ISO-9001 certified company. On account of this and our intrinsically safe certifications (EX Veritas and CSA), we are constantly being held to the highest standards.