Thickness Gauging For Lead Pasting Lines.
Non-contact laser measurement built for the pasting line. Wet side, dry side or stacker, installed by our engineers and running on pasters across the lead-acid industry.
Built For The Paster.
Designed around a pasting line, not adapted from a general purpose gauge. Three things it does that a caliper on a wet plate cannot.
It Measures Wet Paste Without Pressing On It
Any contact tool displaces soft paste, so a caliper reading on a wet plate depends on how hard the operator squeezes and how clean the tool is. The laser has zero contact pressure and reads the true thickness of the plate while the line runs.
It Sees Plate Shape, Not One Number
A scale gives you one number per plate. The C-frame scans across both lanes and reports each lane, each plate and the side-to-side difference, with an optional four-corner reading per plate. A wedge from top to bottom or operator to non-operator side shows up before it becomes a leaning stack at the COS.
It Holds The Hopper On Target
Optional closed loop writes a height correction for each side of the hopper straight back to the paster PLC. With the loop off, thickness drifts with the belt and the operator chases it between checks. With it on, the distribution recentres on nominal and tightens. On one customer pasting line, standard deviation dropped from 41 µm under manual control to 16 µm with the loop closed.
Belt wear, paste build-up and moisture all move plate thickness through a shift. Continuous measurement sees it start, not at the next spot check.
Protective cover, inclined stand, air purge, and an automatic thickness reference that corrects for thermal drift beside the flash dryer.
The thickness margin you carry to stay above the lower limit is paste and lead spent on every plate. Knowing the real number lets you take it back.
What Is Your Variation
Actually Costing?
Put in your plates per minute, your plate size, your paste cost, and your own standard deviation. The estimator shows the math it used, so you can check every number rather than take ours on faith.
No sign-up. Runs in your browser.
The Software Is The Difference.
mgOS filters and processes the thickness waveform to extract and record measurements and KPIs, published continuously to a touchscreen HMI at the paster and to your PLC.
Plates app running two lanes against nominal, with lane averages, plate averages and the run chart on one screen.
What an operator reads off it
-
Every lane, every plate
Mean, max, min and standard deviation for each lane and each plate, plus the overall average, from one pass across the belt.
-
Centring, then spread
The average against target says whether the hopper is on nominal. The side-to-side difference says whether one side of the paster is off. Two problems, two different fixes.
-
Four corners, if you want them
With line speed from the PLC, two acquisitions per plate give a leading and trailing reading per lane, so wedge and taper are visible plate by plate.
-
Measures plates, not chains
Belt scan finds the conveyor chains at start-up and places the measurement locations between them, so a chain never reads as a thick plate.
Closed-Loop Control
Dual-point correction adjusts each side of the hopper independently through your paster PLC, with configurable deadband, step size and delay between corrections.
Lane & Plate Profile
One or two lanes, one or two acquisitions per plate, with mean, min, max, standard deviation and side-to-side difference reported on every scan.
Live Data Visualization
Needle displays for deviation from nominal, plate averages beside the run chart, and live, daily and monthly views on the touchscreen.
Alarms & Alerts
Configurable alerts against your spec and action limits, raised on the HMI, the stacklight or as a PLC signal the instant a plate drifts.
PDF & CSV Reporting
Every scan logged with product, nominal and plate count. Data file downloads for offline analysis and trend tracking. Zero manual data entry.
PLC & API Integration
Product switching, plate counting, auto start and stop, and result publishing over Ethernet/IP, with support for Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Omron controllers.
Your Hand Mic. Upgraded.
Everything your operators know about micrometers, in digital form. Inline, continuous, logged automatically, and with zero contact pressure, so nothing compresses wet paste and nothing depends on operator technique. Configure every detail to match the checks you already run.
Configurable Anvil Size.
Set the virtual anvil to match the hand mic your QA team already uses. Flat, disk, or point, each one averages over a different footprint. Larger anvils give more stable readings on a textured paste surface, smaller ones give finer point-by-point detail, and every VMic across the plate can carry its own size.
As Many Or As Few As You Need.
Define the number of VMic readings taken across each plate. Match the points your QC procedure already calls for, typically four corners and a centre, or add more for a fuller picture. Centred, custom-positioned or zone-based, saved per product.
Spacing That Matches Your Plate.
Place VMics evenly across the plate, weight them toward the frame edges where overpaste shows, or cluster them at a known problem zone. Spacing is fully configurable and recalled automatically when the product changes.
Three anvil styles mapped onto virtual micrometer positions on a thickness profile.
MG3. The Numbers.
Engineered for the pasting environment. Class 2 lasers, 50 mm standard sensors with a wide working range for wet and dry plates, 1 to 5 kHz sampling, and an automatic thickness reference that compensates for thermal expansion.
MG3 on a customer pasting line.
- 2× laser sensors, 50 mm standard (Class 2)
- Scanning C-frame, belt-driven actuator
- 15″ touchscreen HMI
- Automatic thickness reference (TR)
- NIST-traceable calibration block
- Belt scan for chain detection
- mgOS with the Plates app
- PLC integration over Ethernet/IP
Ordered separately: wet side stand (35°), flat stand, stacker stand (10°), protective cover, MG3-36 extended stroke, closed-loop module, and commissioning (remote or on-site).
- Resolution1.5 µm
- Accuracy (Typical)4 µm
- Thickness Range0 to 20 mm
- Stroke (MG3 / MG3-36)515 mm / 924 mm
- Main Housing798 × 506 × 238 mm
- Scanning Speed150 mm/sec
- Measurement Frequency1 to 5 kHz
- Laser ClassClass 2
- Operating Temperature5 to 50 °C
- System Weight49 kg [108 lbs]
Three Places On Your Line.
Where the gauge goes depends on what you want from it. Fastest feedback for control, or the closest reading to what ends up in the stack. A Mate Gauge engineer specs the stand, issues the drawings ahead of your shutdown, and commissions the system on site.
Wet side before the flash dryer, dry side after it, or integrated at the stacker.
-
01
Wet SideStand 10043000 · Cover 10043030
Closest to the paster on a 35° inclined stand, so a correction reaches the hopper within seconds of the reading. The right position for closed-loop control or for a line fighting belt drift. Protective cover keeps paste and debris off the sensors.
-
02
Dry SideFlat Stand 10042846
After the flash dryer, measuring the plate closest to its final thickness. The right position when assembly fit and glass mat compression are the concern, or on a panel line without a stacker.
-
03
Stacker IntegrationStand 10042270
Mounts on a 10° stacker stand and measures on the stacker conveyor, so the gauge adds no length to the line. The right position when the floor is tight.
-
04
Any Paster, Any PLC
Installed on cloth belt, steel belt, fixed orifice and drum pasters from the major builders, on lines from 2006 onward. Connects to your controls over Ethernet/IP for product switching, plate counting and, on pasters with servo thickness adjustment, closed-loop correction of the hopper.
From Line To Live Data.
Once installed on your pasting line, MG3 runs continuously. The Plates app in mgOS handles scanning, measurement, processing, display and alerts, with optional closed-loop output back to the hopper.
Line Starts, Gauge Starts
Auto start and stop follows the line state from your PLC. Belt scan locates the chains, then scanning begins with no operator input.
Gauge And Go Across Both Lanes
Sensors travel to each lane, dwell for a microscan, and capture thickness at 1 to 5 kHz as plates pass beneath.
Live Data Processing
mgOS separates plates, applies peak averaging to match your micrometer, and calculates lane and plate averages, standard deviation and side-to-side difference.
Display & Alerts
Results on the HMI at the paster and published to PLC tags. Out of spec raises an alarm, a stacklight, and a PLC signal.
Hopper Correction
Optional closed loop sends a height correction for each side of the hopper, so the paster answers back before the next spot check would have happened.
Which Position Fits Your Line?
A walkthrough of the MG3 on a pasting line: the three installation positions, what each one is for, and what the operator sees at the paster while the plates run.
-
Wet Side
Closest to the paster for the fastest feedback and closed-loop control, with the cover and inclined stand.
-
Dry Side
After the flash dryer, reading the plate closest to its final thickness before curing.
-
Stacker Integration
On the stacker conveyor when floor space is tight, adding no length to the line.
Worth Reading.
Featured Article
Control by weight, or control by thickness?
The paster only sets one of them. This article explains why locking thickness brings weight and density into line, and what a wet plate on a scale is actually telling you.
-
Knowledge Base
Measuring Overpaste On Battery Plates
How the gauge separates overpaste from grid thickness, and what the profile tells you about the paster.
-
Knowledge Base
Why Your Thickness Gauge Needs To Move
The case for a scanning C-frame over fixed sensors, and what you are actually missing between two fixed points on a plate.
-
Tool
Savings Estimator, Plates Mode
Your plate rate, plate size, paste cost and your own standard deviation. Shows its working so you can check every line.
More From Mate Gauge.
MG-CLS · Cast Lead
Cast Lead Strip
Every strip off the drum measured individually, up to seven in one pass, with closed-loop control back to casting speed.
Learn More →
MG3-RLS · Rolled Lead
Rolled Lead Strip
Edge, centre and edge thickness after the rollers, with I-Unit waviness, on the same MG3 platform.
Learn More →
MGX · Benchtop
Battery Separators
Benchtop measurement of rib and backweb thickness on lead-acid battery separators.
Learn More →Reduce Waste. Improve Consistency.
Automate Control.
We will spec the right system for your paster, your plate layout, and your control system. Send us these six things and an engineer will come back with a configuration, not a brochure.
Tell us about your paster
- Plate thickness and target
- Paster type: belt, steel belt, orifice or drum
- Plate size and number of lanes
- Plates per minute
- Wet side, dry side or stacker preference
- Paster PLC and servo thickness adjustment
Thickness Gauging For Lead Pasting Lines.
Non-contact laser measurement built for the pasting line. Wet side, dry side or stacker, installed by our engineers and running on pasters across the lead-acid industry.
Built For The Paster.
Designed around a pasting line, not adapted from a general purpose gauge. Three things it does that a caliper on a wet plate cannot.
It Measures Wet Paste Without Pressing On It
Any contact tool displaces soft paste, so a caliper reading on a wet plate depends on how hard the operator squeezes and how clean the tool is. The laser has zero contact pressure and reads the true thickness of the plate while the line runs.
It Sees Plate Shape, Not One Number
A scale gives you one number per plate. The C-frame scans across both lanes and reports each lane, each plate and the side-to-side difference, with an optional four-corner reading per plate. A wedge from top to bottom or operator to non-operator side shows up before it becomes a leaning stack at the COS.
It Holds The Hopper On Target
Optional closed loop writes a height correction for each side of the hopper straight back to the paster PLC. With the loop off, thickness drifts with the belt and the operator chases it between checks. With it on, the distribution recentres on nominal and tightens. On one customer pasting line, standard deviation dropped from 41 µm under manual control to 16 µm with the loop closed.
Belt wear, paste build-up and moisture all move plate thickness through a shift. Continuous measurement sees it start, not at the next spot check.
Protective cover, inclined stand, air purge, and an automatic thickness reference that corrects for thermal drift beside the flash dryer.
The thickness margin you carry to stay above the lower limit is paste and lead spent on every plate. Knowing the real number lets you take it back.
What Is Your Variation
Actually Costing?
Put in your plates per minute, your plate size, your paste cost, and your own standard deviation. The estimator shows the math it used, so you can check every number rather than take ours on faith.
No sign-up. Runs in your browser.
The Software Is The Difference.
mgOS filters and processes the thickness waveform to extract and record measurements and KPIs, published continuously to a touchscreen HMI at the paster and to your PLC.
Plates app running two lanes against nominal, with lane averages, plate averages and the run chart on one screen.
What an operator reads off it
-
Every lane, every plate
Mean, max, min and standard deviation for each lane and each plate, plus the overall average, from one pass across the belt.
-
Centring, then spread
The average against target says whether the hopper is on nominal. The side-to-side difference says whether one side of the paster is off. Two problems, two different fixes.
-
Four corners, if you want them
With line speed from the PLC, two acquisitions per plate give a leading and trailing reading per lane, so wedge and taper are visible plate by plate.
-
Measures plates, not chains
Belt scan finds the conveyor chains at start-up and places the measurement locations between them, so a chain never reads as a thick plate.
Closed-Loop Control
Dual-point correction adjusts each side of the hopper independently through your paster PLC, with configurable deadband, step size and delay between corrections.
Lane & Plate Profile
One or two lanes, one or two acquisitions per plate, with mean, min, max, standard deviation and side-to-side difference reported on every scan.
Live Data Visualization
Needle displays for deviation from nominal, plate averages beside the run chart, and live, daily and monthly views on the touchscreen.
Alarms & Alerts
Configurable alerts against your spec and action limits, raised on the HMI, the stacklight or as a PLC signal the instant a plate drifts.
PDF & CSV Reporting
Every scan logged with product, nominal and plate count. Data file downloads for offline analysis and trend tracking. Zero manual data entry.
PLC & API Integration
Product switching, plate counting, auto start and stop, and result publishing over Ethernet/IP, with support for Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Omron controllers.
Your Hand Mic. Upgraded.
Everything your operators know about micrometers, in digital form. Inline, continuous, logged automatically, and with zero contact pressure, so nothing compresses wet paste and nothing depends on operator technique. Configure every detail to match the checks you already run.
Configurable Anvil Size.
Set the virtual anvil to match the hand mic your QA team already uses. Flat, disk, or point, each one averages over a different footprint. Larger anvils give more stable readings on a textured paste surface, smaller ones give finer point-by-point detail, and every VMic across the plate can carry its own size.
As Many Or As Few As You Need.
Define the number of VMic readings taken across each plate. Match the points your QC procedure already calls for, typically four corners and a centre, or add more for a fuller picture. Centred, custom-positioned or zone-based, saved per product.
Spacing That Matches Your Plate.
Place VMics evenly across the plate, weight them toward the frame edges where overpaste shows, or cluster them at a known problem zone. Spacing is fully configurable and recalled automatically when the product changes.
Three anvil styles mapped onto virtual micrometer positions on a thickness profile.
MG3. The Numbers.
Engineered for the pasting environment. Class 2 lasers, 50 mm standard sensors with a wide working range for wet and dry plates, 1 to 5 kHz sampling, and an automatic thickness reference that compensates for thermal expansion.
MG3 on a customer pasting line.
- 2× laser sensors, 50 mm standard (Class 2)
- Scanning C-frame, belt-driven actuator
- 15″ touchscreen HMI
- Automatic thickness reference (TR)
- NIST-traceable calibration block
- Belt scan for chain detection
- mgOS with the Plates app
- PLC integration over Ethernet/IP
Ordered separately: wet side stand (35°), flat stand, stacker stand (10°), protective cover, MG3-36 extended stroke, closed-loop module, and commissioning (remote or on-site).
- Resolution1.5 µm
- Accuracy (Typical)4 µm
- Thickness Range0 to 20 mm
- Stroke (MG3 / MG3-36)515 mm / 924 mm
- Main Housing798 × 506 × 238 mm
- Scanning Speed150 mm/sec
- Measurement Frequency1 to 5 kHz
- Laser ClassClass 2
- Operating Temperature5 to 50 °C
- System Weight49 kg [108 lbs]
Three Places On Your Line.
Where the gauge goes depends on what you want from it. Fastest feedback for control, or the closest reading to what ends up in the stack. A Mate Gauge engineer specs the stand, issues the drawings ahead of your shutdown, and commissions the system on site.
Wet side before the flash dryer, dry side after it, or integrated at the stacker.
-
01
Wet SideStand 10043000 · Cover 10043030
Closest to the paster on a 35° inclined stand, so a correction reaches the hopper within seconds of the reading. The right position for closed-loop control or for a line fighting belt drift. Protective cover keeps paste and debris off the sensors.
-
02
Dry SideFlat Stand 10042846
After the flash dryer, measuring the plate closest to its final thickness. The right position when assembly fit and glass mat compression are the concern, or on a panel line without a stacker.
-
03
Stacker IntegrationStand 10042270
Mounts on a 10° stacker stand and measures on the stacker conveyor, so the gauge adds no length to the line. The right position when the floor is tight.
-
04
Any Paster, Any PLC
Installed on cloth belt, steel belt, fixed orifice and drum pasters from the major builders, on lines from 2006 onward. Connects to your controls over Ethernet/IP for product switching, plate counting and, on pasters with servo thickness adjustment, closed-loop correction of the hopper.
From Line To Live Data.
Once installed on your pasting line, MG3 runs continuously. The Plates app in mgOS handles scanning, measurement, processing, display and alerts, with optional closed-loop output back to the hopper.
Line Starts, Gauge Starts
Auto start and stop follows the line state from your PLC. Belt scan locates the chains, then scanning begins with no operator input.
Gauge And Go Across Both Lanes
Sensors travel to each lane, dwell for a microscan, and capture thickness at 1 to 5 kHz as plates pass beneath.
Live Data Processing
mgOS separates plates, applies peak averaging to match your micrometer, and calculates lane and plate averages, standard deviation and side-to-side difference.
Display & Alerts
Results on the HMI at the paster and published to PLC tags. Out of spec raises an alarm, a stacklight, and a PLC signal.
Hopper Correction
Optional closed loop sends a height correction for each side of the hopper, so the paster answers back before the next spot check would have happened.
Which Position Fits Your Line?
A walkthrough of the MG3 on a pasting line: the three installation positions, what each one is for, and what the operator sees at the paster while the plates run.
-
Wet Side
Closest to the paster for the fastest feedback and closed-loop control, with the cover and inclined stand.
-
Dry Side
After the flash dryer, reading the plate closest to its final thickness before curing.
-
Stacker Integration
On the stacker conveyor when floor space is tight, adding no length to the line.
Worth Reading.
Featured Article
Control by weight, or control by thickness?
The paster only sets one of them. This article explains why locking thickness brings weight and density into line, and what a wet plate on a scale is actually telling you.
-
Knowledge Base
Measuring Overpaste On Battery Plates
How the gauge separates overpaste from grid thickness, and what the profile tells you about the paster.
-
Knowledge Base
Why Your Thickness Gauge Needs To Move
The case for a scanning C-frame over fixed sensors, and what you are actually missing between two fixed points on a plate.
-
Tool
Savings Estimator, Plates Mode
Your plate rate, plate size, paste cost and your own standard deviation. Shows its working so you can check every line.
More From Mate Gauge.
MG-CLS · Cast Lead
Cast Lead Strip
Every strip off the drum measured individually, up to seven in one pass, with closed-loop control back to casting speed.
Learn More →MG3-RLS · Rolled Lead
Rolled Lead Strip
Edge, centre and edge thickness after the rollers, with I-Unit waviness, on the same MG3 platform.
Learn More →MGX · Benchtop
Battery Separators
Benchtop measurement of rib and backweb thickness on lead-acid battery separators.
Learn More →Reduce Waste. Improve Consistency.
Automate Control.
We will spec the right system for your paster, your plate layout, and your control system. Send us these six things and an engineer will come back with a configuration, not a brochure.
Tell us about your paster
- Plate thickness and target
- Paster type: belt, steel belt, orifice or drum
- Plate size and number of lanes
- Plates per minute
- Wet side, dry side or stacker preference
- Paster PLC and servo thickness adjustment