Product category:
Form/co-ordinate, optical and vision instrumentation
News Release from: Micro-Epsilon UK | Subject: CSP 301
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 28 February 2005
Thickness measurement is all a question
of timing
Micro-Epsilon has developed a two-channel synchronous controller for accurate measurement of thickness in production and quality control environments.
In order to accurately measure the thickness of materials or components in high speed production or quality control environments, most manufacturers use some type of two-channel controller and display connected to a PC and then use some customised software to calculate thicknesses The problem with this method is that the two channels, which in the case of measuring sheet material thickness would be used to measure the top and bottom of the sheet, may not be synchronised, resulting in time delays between the two channels
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 28 Feb 2005 at 8.00am (UK)
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These delays result in inaccuracies, especially if the system is being used to measure thickness on high-speed production lines, or if the end user requires thickness accuracies down to microns.
To solve this problem, Micro-Epsilon has developed a two-channel synchronous controller (using two synchronous measurement sensors) for accurate measurement of thickness in production and quality control environments.
The CSP 301 is the first two-channel display controller to offer true, synchronous capability, which means it takes measurements and displays the results simultaneously.
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Whereas end user manufacturers would spend considerable time setting up a nonsynchronous controller for thickness measurement tasks, including the customisation of measurement software, Micro-Epsilon's CSP 301 is a simple, robust display controller that is easy for the end user to install and requires no customisation or programming of the software.
It has in-built scaling factors so that users can multiply the incoming data up to a suitable scale for recording and plotting of measurements.
And there's an analogue 0-10V output channel from the controller for the output of thickness data, which can then be exported to other data logging devices or shop floor data collection systems.
The CSP 301 also has alarm functions which can be set to trigger a warning light or sound alarms if, for example, the thickness of the material exceeds an upper or lower tolerance.
Wiring between the two channels and the display can also be tricky and takes up more time for end users.
The CSP 301 comes ready-wired as a complete system solution that can effectively be "plugged in" to the end user's production line.
According to Chris Jones, UK Managing Director at Micro-Epsilon: "No other sensor or controller supplier can offer end users a synchronous two-channel controller and display".
"This gives Micro-Epsilon a technical advantage in this area, which users should be taking advantage of".
"The CSP 301 is also priced very competitively compared with existing thickness measurement solutions". Request a free brochure from Micro-Epsilon UK ...
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