US Patent 7533698 Trackable, identifiable foreign material exclusion device

A foreign material exclusion device which is adapted to be utilized in tubes, pipes, or the like to prevent entry of debris into a potentially sensitive area of an assembly, such as a turbine assembly utilized in a power plant. In one embodiment, the device is adapted to be connected to a non-moving portion of a rotary milling tool, such as the collet, before a milling operation to prevent milling debris from entering a sensitive portion of a tube or pipe. In a further embodiment each device of the present invention includes a unique identifier or identification element, such as a machine readable bar code or RFID (radio frequency identification) tag to insure all devices utilized for a particular job are accounted for.