The solution for thickness gauging and quality control comprises a compact, sturdy base frame, an integrated control cabinet and an aluminium measuring roller.
The thicknessGAUGE O.EC system from Micro-Epsilon offers precise measurement from ± 0.3 µm and is said to fill the gap that currently exists in the market between basic thickness sensors and higher-cost, dedicated inline thickness measurement systems. The thicknessGAUGE O.EC is suitable for integration in complete production lines, for example, in the production of plastics and battery film.
The fully assembled thicknessGAUGE O.EC system uses a combiSENSOR KSS6430 for thickness measurement, which enables sub-micron accuracy and high signal stability. The combiSENSOR combines a capacitive sensor with an inductive sensor based on eddy current technology. Both sensors measure from the same side in the direction of the aluminium roller. The capacitive sensor uses the dielectric constant of the non-conductive material to determine the distance to the topside of the target object, while the integrated eddy current sensor records the distance to the aluminium roller. The difference between the two signals provides the thickness of the material. Before measurement, calibration must be performed on a reference target of known thickness.
Depending on the application requirements, the system can be operated in traversing mode, scanning back and forth continuously, or in fixed track mode where a specific point, often the centreline, is taken for gauge control. The system can also be set to edge mode for control of the material edge thickness. The entire system is powered via a 24V power source.
All thicknessGAUGE systems are supplied with a multi-touch panel industrial PC that is pre-installed with the thicknessCONTROL software package from Micro-Epsilon. This is the same software used in the high end measurement systems and provides convenient touch gesture control similar to that of modern smartphones. The measured process values can be displayed in multiple ways, including simple large values of thickness, cross profiles and length trends or combinations of each. The different measurement modes such as fixed-track thickness measurement at any position, traversing measurement of the thickness cross profile, and three- or five-track measurement of longitudinal thickness trends can be selected. Full SPC data of the measurements is available and an automated verification of the system’s capability can be completed by the customer themselves.
Other features for documentation and process control include an article database, production archive, statistical evaluations, as well as limit value monitoring with ‘return back to production’ using (optional) digital fieldbus interfaces.
Glenn Wedgbrow, business development manager at Micro-Epsilon comments: “Our thicknessGAUGE range now includes both C-frame and O-frame configurations, with a variety of sensor technologies available to suit the exact requirements of the application. The O-frame design enables customers to measure increased web widths, up to three times wider than our C-frame version.”
