Our scanning gauges can measure several strips simultaneously. Our equipment measures all of the strips and reports each individual strip’s thickness as well as the average of all strips.

With scan capture, the laser sensor, also called the “spot”, is constantly moving. The spot is the point of measurement. Thickness is measured using two laser sensors positioned to face each other – one aimed at the top of the material and the other at the bottom. Because we know the distance between the sensors, we can easily and accurately calculate the thickness of the material between them.

The laser sensors only measure one spot at a time but are attached to a motorized C frame, which continuously moves from side to side as the material being measured runs through the line. As a result, our gauges measure 1000 thickness points per second, providing a comprehensive cross-sectional assessment.

All Mate Gauge systems use flying spot (scanning) laser sensors - not stationary! Scanning lasers systems have the benefit of being able to read at any location across the entire stroke, but they have some other key advantages. By moving the sensors out of the material range, it makes maintenenace easier, as well as allowing a key feature of automatic referencing. The sensors are able to check themselves against a standard at a set interval allowing the measurement accuracy to be greatly tightened.  When the sensors do get dirty, our alert system makes sure you’re immediately notified. When it’s cleaning time, the sensors are easily retracted and quickly cleaned with zero disruption to your manufacturing line. 

Alternatives to scanning sensors may be multiple pairs of fixed sensors - however adding more sensors can complicate calibration and add costs, plus the loss of ability to move the scans across the stroke.  On top of that, if you want to add peripheral hardware to each sensor, such as air purge and temperature control, it quickly becomes very expensive.  If your material width changes or you want to use the same line for more than one product, you have to start over and reposition and recalibrate all of the sensors. This can be time-consuming and requires the line to shut down.

Line sensors that span a portion of the working measurement stroke, but to acheive a substainial measuring line width they lose considerable accuarcy. Shorter range spot sensors have dramatically higher accuracy. 

Our sensors come equipped with air purge technology, which helps reduce debris buildup that hinders measurement accuracy. However, when the sensors do get dirty, our alert system ensures that you’re notified immediately. Dirty sensors are easily retracted, and quickly cleaned with no disruption to your manufacturing line.

All of our systems ship with a NIST-traceable calibration reference block. The gauge should be calibrated every 3 to 6 months. Inline gauges should also be calibrated anytime they are moved to a new location.

Our benchtop systems are used in both lab applications, and on the factory floor. Our offline gauges are portable and robust, and designed for use in both of these settings.

Our gauges measure at a speed of 150mm (6”) per second. Sampling rate is configurable between 1-5khz