Advanced Optical Technology for Paint and Coating Thickness Measurement

Measuring coating and paint thickness using the thermal method is now possible with AOT (Advanced Optic Technology), one of the latest technologies today. You can now very easily document the quality of your coatings. If your goal is coating and paint savings or reducing your environmental footprint, this technology will serve you well. For this purpose, Coatmaster, which DB Kimya has brought to Turkey, performs automatic and non-contact coating thickness measurement. With a measurement chamber / zone solution to be installed on your line, it can be permanently and fully integrated into your production process. Measurement data is reliably recorded, evaluated, documented and clearly visualized. This system can be used for all common coatings and paints: electrostatic powder coatings (powder or cured), liquid paints (before or after drying), powder and wet enamel coatings, plastic coatings, wood paints, adhesion promoters and thermally sprayed coatings. So how does CoatMaster work? This technology, developed by Winterthur Instruments, measures by utilizing the thermal conductivity contrast of materials. After the coating is heated in a pulse-like manner by a few degrees Celsius, cooling and heat conduction progress toward deeper areas of the coating and substrate material. The detected thermal radiation is recorded, converted and digitized without contact. In order to guarantee perfect coating and painting results in production and lasting process reliability, coating thickness measurement applied in the process is very important. With this thermal coating test method, the thickness of coatings can be determined immediately after application, without time loss, directly in the production process in a non-contact and non-destructive manner. This technology, originating from the automotive industry, can be used on virtually any painted part.

Measuring Coating Thickness:

Overview of coating thickness measurement with Coatmaster: • Non-contact and automatic measurement, • Suitable for complex-shaped parts, • Measurement can be performed at an early stage of the process, • Real-time inline solution, • Measurement possible with all colors, • Coating thickness can be 1-2000 μm, • Measurement distance can be 50-1200 mm.

Operator Benefits:

• Enables continuous automatic monitoring and documentation of the coating process, • Used as a significant cost reduction tool through savings on coating / paint material, • Reduces personnel costs for quality control, • Prevents scrap part formation through early detection, • Provides important improvements in resource conservation and environmental terms.  

Measurement Method:

The paint or coating layer is heated in a pulsive manner via a flash lamp, and the heat radiation emitted from the surface is locally detected with a non-contact infrared sensor. The time dynamics of the emitted heat radiation are affected by the layer thickness of the coating and substrate. Heat distribution is characterized by the layer structure. At the beginning of measurement, the device is calibrated according to the thermal properties of the coating and substrate, and with this measurement method, non-contact detection of coating thickness can be performed. The measurement signals contain information about material properties, coating thickness, adhesion and homogeneity.

Fluctuations on Paint and Coating Surfaces:

Paint and coating surfaces are typically not completely flat and of uniform thickness; there is a wave-like fluctuation on the surface, similar to an orange peel. This fluctuation is influenced by various parameters such as the nature and roughness of the material, pre-treatment, particle size, chemical composition and temperature distribution during the curing / baking / drying process. During Coatmaster measurement, the fluctuation described above is automatically compensated through optical averaging processing. Thus, reliable determination of coating thickness is possible even with varying thicknesses. Winterthur Instruments' CoatMaster non-contact thickness measurement device reduces the challenges of today's coating processes. By means of the device, the layer thickness of wet, adhesive, powder or solid coatings ranging from one micrometer to two millimeters can be determined immediately after coating application in a non-contact and non-destructive manner. Regardless of the color of the coating or the shape and material of the workpiece to be coated, CoatMaster provides reliable measurement results. It is suitable for operation in the laboratory and production environment. Measurement is performed without emission of hazardous radiation. Fluctuations in process conditions, such as changes in working distance or angular oscillation of the workpiece to be measured, are tolerated during measurement. Thus, it meets high requirements regarding the accuracy of coating thickness measurement.

Technical Data:

• Measurement range: 1 - 2000 μm • Measurement distance: 50 - 1200 mm • Measurement spot size: Ø 2 - 50 mm • Measuring object movable: 50 m / min • Distance tolerance: ± 30 mm • Angle tolerance: ± 70 ° • Measurement frequency: 2 sec • Single point LED marker • Focal length: 135 mm, 250 mm, 350 mm, 500 mm • Measurement head (weight 4.2 kg, dimensions 204 x 254 x 268 mm) • Cooling unit 19" housing • Generator unit 19" housing • Ethernet interface • Operating temperature 5 - 30 ° C • Recommended maintenance interval 1 year or 2 million measurements

[1] Measurement head [2] Power unit [3] Cooling unit