Thickness measurement

High-speed,
high-accuracy measurement

Modern processing lines and quality controls

demand high-performance gauging systems to ensure
compliance with the quality standards required.
 Thickness measurement
Multi-channel gauging system, aluminium
hot strip mill
Multi-channel center-line and edge-drop
gauge, cold strip tandem mill
Main control pulpit, cold strip tandem mill
Exactly how reliable are your
gauging systems?
Thickness and profile
measurement
Increasing automation and continual
improvements in production out-
put in the ferrous and non-ferrous
industries have raised the demands
placed on the gauging systems
used in the production process. In
addition to the material qualities
of formability and strength, other
criteria of high interest are dimen-
sional accuracy, flatness and surface
quality.
Innovative development in the field
of thickness and profile measure-
ment technology has enabled IMS
to face this challenge and contribute
greatly to ensuring compliance
with industry quality standards.
IMS thickness gauging systems are
used in cold and hot-mill applica-
tions in the steel, aluminium and
other non-ferrous industries. They
usually consist of a front-end
measuring position, a computer
system for measuring signal proces-
sing and external peripherals. They
are normally also equipped with
data archiving systems for statistical
analysis and evaluation for quality
control purposes.
Strip thickness is measured on-line
to a very high accuracy (< ± 0.1%)
at measuring time constants in the
order of 1 ms. All measurement is
non-contact and the strip quality is
not degraded by the measuring
process.
IMS gauging systems are designed
and engineered for long-term use
in industrial applications. Users may
be assured of long gauge life in the
prevailing plant conditions and of
convenient and easy operation.
New gauging systems are developed
and engineered with full regard to
the technical requirements of the
customer. The main criteria used
by IMS in this respect are high
operational reliability and quality
of measurement. The variety of
gauge types available in the IMS
product range enables a customised
solution to be found for every task
in the field of non-contact thickness
measurement.
IMS is able to meet the demand
for increasingly high measuring
accuracy and lower time constant
measurement with simultaneous
reductions in the signal-to-noise
ratio.
System configuration
The standard configuration of an
IMS thickness gauging system (see
fig. top right) consists of a front-end
measuring position with a radiation
source (x-ray tube or radioisotope)
and an electronics cubicle housing
an integrated computer system for
measuring signal processing.
Additional operator stations and
external peripherals such as printers,
chart recorders and display devices
can be integrated into the gauging
system.
All types of interface (Ethernet-TCP/
IP, RS232, RS485, etc.) are provided
for data communication between
the customer's host computer and
the IMS gauge computer. The
modular design of the gauge
hardware and software offers
numerous possibilities for extension.
A standard Windows NT operating
system allows the operator to
work in a familiar environment.
Gauge operation and service &
Typical thickness gauge layout
C-frame
Detector
Ethernet
MU
HSG
X-ray tube
HSG = High voltage generator
MU = Measuring transducer
FW = Remote maintenance/diagnostics
MMI = Operation and visualisation interfaces
PDA = Product data archive
maintenance functions are suppor-
ted by user-friendly monitor screens.
Gauging system performance can be
analysed and problems diagnosed
remotely – from our main plant in
Germany to any location in the
world – through interrogation of
gauge operation via built-in
communication interfaces.
Depending on the particular
application, thickness and profile
gauging systems can be supple-
mented by additional measurements
from the IMS product range.
They include:
• Flatness measurement
• Width measurement
• Temperature and temperature
profile measurement
• Speed and length measurement
All gauging systems are equipped
with manual and automatic per-
formance monitoring facilities for
the determination of repeatability
and correct gauge operation. The
gauges are optimised during system
calibration by mathematical
calculation. The calibration data
from every calibration cycle is
logged and can be archived for
future reference if required.
Front-end measuring position
The large variety of C-frame designs
means that IMS gauging systems
X-ray
control unit
can be applied individually through-
out the plant for all the different
types of measurement.
The following examples give a brief
overview of the types of front-end
measuring equipment available and
of the possibilities for strip thickness
measurement:
• Thickness gauge measuring at the
center of the strip (length profile)
• Multi-channel gauge measuring
cross-profile and center-line thick-
ness (length profile)
• Multi-channel gauge measuring
edge-drop profiles and the
center-line thickness
• Multi-channel gauge measuring
cross-profile, edge-drop profiles
and center-line thickness – inclu-
ding width and flatness measure-
ments
The IMS multi-channel profile gauge
provides a measurement of the
thickness profile across the full
width of the strip (or plate). The
top arm of the C-frame is equipped
with a number of x-ray tubes or
radioisotope sources depending on
the application. In profile gauges
with two radiation sources the two
radiation beams view the complete
width of the strip stereoscopically.
For gauges equipped with four
radiation sources the sources are
arranged into two pairs in such a
way that one pair of radiation
beams views say the drive side half
of the strip and the other pair the
MMI PDA
Ethernet
FW
Customer network
Ethernet
operator side half of the strip.
Again, all measurement is per-
formed stereoscopically.
The bottom arm of the C-frame is
equipped with a number of ioni-
sation chamber detectors. During
profile measurement the complete
C-frame oscillates at a frequency of
1.5 Hz to 2 Hz through an amplitude
of ± 20 mm. Each profile channel
views a strip width of 8 mm. The
oscillation function of the C-frame
ensures continuous and complete
measurement of the cross-strip
profile.
In order to obtain optimum measur-
ing results the radiation beam exit
and entrance windows – after the
radiation sources and before the
detectors – must remain clean. In
IMS gauges either an air blower or
compressed air is used to perform
this duty. The C-frame is supplied
with an adequate quantity of clean
air via plastic hoses and/or metal-
pipes. The electrical supplies to the
blower motor and the gauging
system are kept separate.
Cooling
The cooling medium for the x-ray
tubes can be either water or mill
coolant. In hot-mill applications
the C-frames are also cooled with
water (clean and oil-free).
The cooling medium is cooled in a
closed-circuit cooling system develo-
ped by IMS.
 This system is dimensioned for the
particular application, thereby
ensuring optimum heat exchange.
All cooling circuits are monitored
for pressure, temperature and flow.
Measuring principle
IMS thickness gauges operate on
the principle of transmission radia-
tion. X-ray or isotope radiation
emitted from a radiation source
passes through the object being
measured (e.g. the strip). A detector
located at the other side of the strip
measures radiation intensity.
In IMS gauges this detector always
takes the form of an ionisation
chamber, designed specifically for
the application. As the radiation
passes through the strip some of it
is absorbed by the strip material.
The remaining, i.e. non-absorbed
radiation arrives at the detector.
Thickness gauge measuring principle
Signal processing
electronics
Detector
Absorber Thickness 's'
Radioisotope or
x-ray radiation X
source
I0 Im = I 0 · e
-µ·s
Im
s s
lo Detector signal without absorber
lm Detector signal with absorber
s Thickness of absorbers
µ Attenuation coefficient
Multi-channel
profile gauge
The detector measures the intensity
of this radiation and produces an
ionisation current Im (the measuring
signal), which is proportional to the
thickness of the strip.
The ionisation current is converted
into a digital signal in a measuring
transducer, which is located in the
C-frame. It is then transmitted to
the gauge signal processing com-
puter via an Ethernet TCP/IP
link. The output signal from
the gauge computer represents
the strip thickness.
Today's gauging systems are
Thickness gauge,
equipped with modern x-ray tech- cold strip
nology. The main advantage of
x-ray radiation is that the signal
noise is very much smaller than that
from an isotope gauge. The x-ray
energy level is optimised for each
particular application by careful
selection of the high voltage supply
to the x-ray tube. As a result of this
optimisation a very high measuring
accuracy is achieved at very low
measuring time constants.
Another advantage of x-ray
gauges over isotope gauges is
that x-ray radiation can be switched
off during production breaks and
downtimes. This is normally of parti-
cular interests to the mill operator.
X-ray high voltage generator
and measuring transducer
built into C-frame

Center-line thickness gauge
(strip length profile)
Safety
IMS gauging systems are equipped
with safety features that go beyond
normal legal requirements.
Safety switches, emergency shut-
off devices, component identifica-
tion and hazard warnings are self-
explanatory and clearly marked.
Gauging systems using x-ray or
isotope radiation are subject to
especially strict regulations. Radia-
tion status light boxes and built-in
redundant alarms are used to indi-
cate the open/closed status of the
shutter(s) and the possible presence
of radiation.
Heavy duty cabling is used for the
electrical connection of all compo-
nents performing safety functions.
The statuses of safety devices are
monitored continually by the gau-
ge computer. All irregularities are
logged and warnings signalled.
The shutter unit(s) is opened pneu-
matically and closes automatically
by the operation of a return spring
in the event of a drop in air pressure.
The safety aspects of IMS gauges
are described in detail in our system
documentation, which is available
as a written manual and on DVD.
All system documentation is sup-
plied in German or English. Other
languages can be accommodated
on request.

Technical specifications
The main IMS gauge specifications and gauge performance figures are pre-
sented below:
Product data
Measuring range:
C-frame air gap
Multi-channel cross-profile gauge Thickness measurement:
with center-line measurement Profile measurement:
C-frame throat depth
Thickness measurement:
Profile measurement:
Measuring dynamics
Measuring time constant:
Measured value processing
cycle time:
Measured value output
cycle time:
Gauge performance
Measuring accuracy
(repeatability + linearity):
Statistical noise 2σ:
Availability:
Detectors
Multi-channel edge-drop gauge with Number of measuring channels: 1 to 200
center-line measurement Detectors:
Type of radiation
X-ray radiation:
Radioisotope radiation:
Shutter unit:
General specifications
Construction:
Measured value processing:
C-frame drive:
Oscillation drive:
Measuring position air wipe:
Power supply:
Multi-channel profile and edge-drop
gauge with width and flatness Weight:
measurements
maximum 180 mm
50 mm to 3,000 mm
100 mm to 2,600 mm
350 mm to 6,000 mm
500 mm to 4,000 mm
1 to 10 ms, adjustable
1 to 10 ms
1 to 10 ms
≤ ± 0.1%, not better than ± 0.2 µm
< ± 0.1% at T = 1 to 5 ms (T = integration time)
≥ 99.5 %
Ionisation chamber, efficiency maximum 98 %
10 to 160 kV
Caesium Cs 137
Pneumatic: air pressure to open (auto-close by
return spring)
Industry standard
Powerful computer with multi-processor
technology
Electric or pneumatic
Electric / frequency converter (only for profile
measurement)
High performance blower 400 V, 21 kW,
or compressed air
230/400 V AC, 50/60 Hz, maximum 5 kVA
Maximum ca 10 t
IMS Messsysteme GmbH
Dieselstraße 55
D-42579 Heiligenhaus
Postfach 10 03 52
D-42568 Heiligenhaus

+49 (0) 2056 975-0

Telefax: +49 (0) 2056 975-140 © 2000 IMS Messsysteme GmbH, Heiligenhaus

E-mail: info@ims-gmbh.de All rights reserved. This publication is protected in all parts by copyright. Distribution and
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Internet: www.ims-gmbh.de All company and product names used in this documentation may be registered trademarks. AN 014-12-01/07.09