Micro-Epsilon announced as finalist in two categories at the Instrumentation Excellence Awards 2024

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Precision sensor manufacturer Micro-Epsilon has been announced as a finalist in two categories at the Instrumentation Excellence Awards 2024. Organised by Instrumentation Monthly publisher Datateam Business Media, the awards ceremony will take place at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London on 24th October 2024. The Awards celebrate the very best professionals, products, projects and companies from across the test, measurement, sensing and control sectors.

The thicknessGAUGE thickness measurement system from Micro-Epsilon is a finalist in the ‘Sensor Product of the Year’ category. Chris Jones, Managing Director of Micro-Epsilon UK, is a finalist in the ‘Industry Personality’ category.

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Chris Jones, Managing Director of Micro-Epsilon UK, is a finalist in the ‘Industry Personality’ category.
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The thicknessGAUGE series of thickness measurement systems is a finalist in the ‘Sensor Product of the Year’ Award.

thicknessGAUGE is a complete ‘out-of-the-box’ solution for thickness gauging and quality control, the sensor system offers precise measurement from ± 0.25µm and fills the gap that currently exists in the market between basic thickness sensors and high performance, dedicated inline thickness measurement systems. The system is suitable for both offline and inline thickness gauging and is available in several versions that use one of three different sensor types – laser triangulation, laser profile or confocal chromatic sensors. The flexibility of technology selection from Micro-Epsilon’s own portfolio of sensors ensures optimum results are achieved based on the surface type, material to be measured and the performance requirements of each customer. The sensor system also offers different measuring ranges and measuring widths to suit a wide range of applications.

Due to an integrated linear electromechanical drive, C-frame thicknessGAUGE systems can be positioned on a fixed track or can perform traversing measurements. The system is equipped with an automatic calibration unit, consisting of a certified gauge block that is measured periodically as part of the traversing process. The use of a gauge block as part of the system ensures optimum accuracy is maintained and accounts for the effects of fluctuating temperatures and changes in the distance of the measurement gap. The required supply voltage of 24 V is normally available in every industrial plant, which simplifies integration.

All thicknessGAUGE sensor 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 smart phones. Full SPC data of the measurements is available and an automated verification of the system’s capability can be completed by the customer themselves.

Impressive customer feedback

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MAHLE Engine Systems Kilmarnock uses the thicknessGAUGE to measure the thickness of strip materials.

MAHLE Engine Systems Kilmarnock, a supplier of aluminium tin bi-metal and sinter (copper/bronze) bi-metal coils to MAHLE Bearings plants globally, is using the thicknessGAUGE system to measure the thickness of strip materials. The system is also used to measure the cross-strip profile of the material to check for warp (i.e. bowed, curved or tilted), which would adversely affect the downstream cold bonding process.

Charles McMillan, Head of Quality/Process Engineering at MAHLE Engine Systems UK comments: “The metal alloys that we produce at Kilmarnock are supplied in coils to other inter-group companies where they are used in the manufacture of automotive components such as engine bearings and thrust washers.”

The quality team at Kilmarnock decided it needed some sort of thickness measurement system for the strip material that the plant produces. McMillan says his team wanted a thickness measurement system that could provide them with process capability but which would also be flexible enough to be moved around their different production lines and machines.

“We had used Micro-Epsilon products before, so we approached them to see if they had a suitable thickness measurement solution. After an on-site demonstration, we gave Micro-Epsilon some strip samples taken from various steps in our production processes. Micro-Epsilon carried out some process/machine capability tests and at that point we were confident that the solution would provide us with the measurements we needed,” states McMillan.

The plant is seeing benefits from thicknessGAUGE already. McMillan says that in the final process before the alloy strip goes to the cold bonding operation, the thicknessGAUGE has helped identify potential issues after start-up. He explains: “On start up, one particular batch of alloy strip was OK, but within about 40 metres into the coil, the thickness of the strip became harder to control and was more than 100 microns outside the target thickness. This immediately warned us that there would be a problem in our downstream bonding process. The finished product would basically be out of specification.”

Before using the thicknessGAUGE, the quality team took only sample measurements, so this type of issue may have been missed completely. “We wouldn’t know if the strip was the same thickness all the way through, or if it varied. With the thicknessGAUGE, we can now check our various processes to see what we need to do to change the number of reduction passes on the alloy.”

As McMillan concludes: “Working with Micro-Epsilon has been great and the support they’ve provided has been fantastic. The on-site demonstration and training were excellent, and they turned around the sample strip tests really quickly for us. The thicknessGAUGE system itself is very intuitive, easy to use and has proved very reliable.”

For more information on the thicknessGAUGE series, please visit www.micro-epsilon.co.uk or call the Micro-Epsilon sales department on +44 (0)151 355 6070 or email
info@~@micro-epsilon.co.uk

 

Further information

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