Superior metal working performance from Roland Electronic
March 2012Maintenance, Test & Measurement, Calibration
Thickness measurement and double sheet detection from one unit.
Some customer specific applications call for innovative thinking and new solutions. The new capacitance double sheet and in-line thickness control system, C100-S from Roland Electronicc, has been developed to accommodate just these and is now part of its standard product range. The machines capacitance principle brings some unique advantages when compared to sensor principles such as magnetism, eddy current and induction.
The measurement is independent of the type of alloy
The capacitance double sheet detection system for metals is entirely independent of the type of metal, alloy or the type of heat treatment applied. For all metals, the system always measures the same thickness regardless of whether it is steel, aluminium or any kind of alloy. This is of special significance for many of the new materials used in automotive lightweight bodies, for example, the so-called duplex and TRIP steels. These and many other new materials often have vastly differing electrical and magnetic properties, which require measurement equipment to be calibrated taking into account many different metallurgical properties. The unique features of the capacitance principle lead to significant and cost effective simplification of the measurement platform and its integration into higher order control systems.
Thickness measurement and double sheet detection in one unit
When a metal sheet is moved into the sensor gap the system determines in-line the absolute thickness as an analogue value, which is then made available to higher order control systems for evaluation. This information is needed to ensure that the material is of the right thickness for further processing, eg, in straighteners, slitters, cut-length lines or blanking presses. Alternatively, the absolute thickness can also be used as a nominal value to generate the lower and upper switching thresholds for double sheet detection. The capacitance system is therefore an excellent substitution for the mechanical double sheet detectors commonly used by manufacturers of press brakes, bending cells, turret punches or laser cutting machines.
Compact design
The system consists of a C-measurement frame and a control unit, in each part of the frame there is an electrode with a temperature probe. The C-frame is attached to the enclosure of the control unit C100-S and the measurement value is supplied to the control circuit as an analogue voltage, it is also visible on the LCD display. The integrated double sheet detector issues the output signals 0-1-2 sheets and for reliability, it has integrated air channels for periodic cleaning of the electrodes with an air purge. Metallic brushes at the sensor gap provide the necessary electrical ground contact to the sheet.
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