Confocal chromatic sensor shines at its task
A
Micro-Epsilon UK product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Feb 28, 2005
A novel displacement sensor measures independently from surface reflection using a unique "confocal chromatic" measurement principle.
For manufacturing companies and design engineers who need to measure and monitor transparent or shiny surfaces such as polished metal and glass, Micro-Epsilon's new displacement sensor is able to measure independently from surface reflection by using a unique "confocal chromatic" measurement principle.
Surface contours can be measured accurately, as well as thicknesses of transparent materials, distances and hole depth.
The sensor has a much higher resolution and is more stable than laser diode alternatives.
The Micro-Epsilon optoNCDT 2400 confocal chromatic sensor measurement system consists of a controller and a displacement sensor.
A fibre optic cable, which can be made to almost any length to suit the application, connects the two components together, enabling the sensor to operate at a considerable distance from the controller.
The system works by focussing polychromatic white light onto the target surface using a multiple-lens optical system.
The lenses are arranged in such a way that the white light is dispersed into a monochromatic light by controlled chromatic deviation.
A certain deviation is assigned to each wavelength by a factory calibration.
Only the wavelength which is exactly focussed on the target surface or material is used for the measurement.
This light reflected from the target surface is then passed via a confocal aperture to the receiver which detects and processes the spectral changes.
This unique measuring principle enables displacements and distances to be measured very precisely.
Both diffuse and spectral surfaces can be measured and with transparent materials such as glass, a one-sided thickness measurement can be accomplished along with the distance measurement.
And, because the emitter and receiver are arranged in one axis, shadowing is avoided.
According to Chris Jones, UK MD at Micro-Epsilon: "Typical applications for the sensor include the profile measurement of coins, glass thickness, surface measurement of halogen reflectors and light bulb thickness measurement".
"The sensor is also suitable for nanotechnology applications as it has a spot diameter of between 7 and 10 microns, which is much smaller than laser diode sensors".
"In addition, customers will be using a sensor with a halogen light source rather than a laser diode, so health and safety issues won't be a concern".
Measuring ranges are 0.08, 0.35, 1.0, 3.0, 10 and 24mm.
Linearity is less than +/-0.03% full scale.
Resolution is 0.004% full scale, and measuring rates (selectable) are 30, 100, 300 and 1000Hz.
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Contact Micro-Epsilon UK
Tel +44 151 355 6070
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A supplier of nano-positioning systems for atomic force microscopy (AFM) is using non-contact capacitive displacement sensors from Micro-Epsilon to measure the travel distance of test items.
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