Waste production can be avoided with a contactless measuring device
Fluctuations in coating thickness before curing or drying can result in rejects and unnecessary material consumption. The contactless COATMASTER FLEX measuring device helps to precisely control coating thickness and ensure consistent product quality.
Why measuring coating thickness matters
Today's manufacturing industry constantly faces the challenge of surviving in fierce competition. Continuous investments are made in new technologies to stay even one small step ahead of competitors. In September 2021, a new version of the contactless measuring instrument "COATMASTER FLEX" was introduced, enabling significant savings in production costs and ensuring consistently uniform product quality.
Studies show that even today there are still situations where fewer than 10% of all powder coaters measure coating thickness before placing the product in the curing or drying oven. The applied coating thickness is affected by many external factors that cannot be fully controlled, including:
- the ingredients of the powder coating itself;
- the ageing of wear parts;
- humidity levels.
Even under otherwise stable parameters, coating thickness can vary by more than 50%. In the classical sense, a too-thin coating can only be prevented by applying more material than necessary.
A universal tool for various surfaces
The device is designed to contactlessly measure coating thickness on a wide variety of surfaces (metal, glass, stone, plastic, wood, etc.) before the curing (powder coating) or drying process (liquid coating) begins, thereby allowing an assessment of whether the coating thickness is sufficient or perhaps excessive.
The same device can measure both the already crystallised powder coating layer and the thickness of a dried liquid coating surface layer, making it an extremely versatile tool.
Operating principle
The measuring device's operating principle is based on "Advanced Thermal Optics – ATO", whereby a barely noticeable thermal charge is applied to a large area with a light pulse. The heat transferred through the coating is analysed using fast infrared sensors and innovative algorithms. The coating thickness is determined using algorithms based on the propagation time of the thermal wave and the thermal properties of the coating material, and these results are accurate.
Savings and quality gains
When coating thickness is measured immediately after the coating is applied, the desired coating thickness can be achieved more precisely and the necessary adjustments can be made promptly. In practice, this can save up to 30% of powder coating.
To date, many providers of contactless coating thickness measurement fail due to the high quality requirements of industries. These requirements include a high tolerance in handling so that measurement results are fast and can be obtained even from moving parts, and additionally enable accurate comparative measurement after the oven.
Data straight to the cloud
An additional advantage of the COATMASTER FLEX is that data is sent directly to the server and can be processed directly in the cloud. In addition to document processing and report generation, the cloud also allows the creation of production orders, so that the operator can focus on taking measurements. After measuring, a report of the measurement results can be generated automatically, which makes documentation significantly easier.
Automatic statistical notifications by email are highly regarded as innovative and cutting-edge, enabling better and faster control of coating quality and powder consumption. A demo can be viewed by logging in at coatmaster.cloud.
Try the device in your production
Elister OÜ has one demo device that can be tried and tested in various production environments to gain a precise overview of the product's excellent features. In the case of a demonstration, we will come on site and provide training on how to use the device and the cloud service.
The set includes:
- the measuring device in a case;
- 2 x Bosch 4.0 Ah batteries with charger;
- cloud service login codes, which we provide directly with the device.
To submit your trial request, please send us an email at info@elister.ee or fill in the form on our website.
Elister
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