Prized application: Measurement of sprayed skin thickness

Together with Rectibel Automobilsysteme, Micro-Epsilon achieved 2nd place for the award of the German sensor application prize 2008 at the SPS|IPC|DRIVES exhibition. The prize which has been awarded since the year 2002 is granted for difficult application cases which have been solved using particularly creative and efficient sensor systems.
Mr. Philippe Huysentruyt of Recticel Automobilsysteme GmbH received the 2nd place with the “combination sensor” application. The combination sensor technology developed by Micro-Epsilon combines an optical laser sensor in a common case with an eddy current sensor.
The thickness of plastic interior parts is monitored in the production process with this special sensor. The thickness is a crucial criterion particularly for parts relevant to safety.
The sensor is located in the direct vicinity of the spray nozzle on the robot. The eddy currents penetrate the plastic layer and measure the metal shape while the laser sensor measures the surface of the sprayed-on plastic. The thickness is determined from both signals using the difference method. In doing so, both sensors measure completely synchronised and in one axis. Any occurring corrections are performed directly after the spraying process.