Thickness measurement of coils in slitting lines

The thicknessCONTROL MTS 8201.LLT O-frame measurement system from Micro-Epsilon determines the thickness profile of individual metal strips in slitting lines. A laser line sensor enables additional measurement options, which weren’t supported by conventional measurement methods.

In a slitting line, the thickness of metal strip can be measured prior to or after the slitting operation. The thicknessCONTROL MTS 8201.LLT O-frame system uses two laser triangulation profile sensors to perform alloy-independent measurements to an accuracy of a few micrometres. For the first time, the laser line sensor addresses specific measurement tasks that could not be solved using point-type lasers, isotopes or radiometric systems. Application examples include measuring channelled sheets (base plate thickness and channel heights) and measuring the thickness of “sandwich plates” made from non-homogeneous materials. Thickness measurements are continuous and non-contact. Due to space constraints, the strip profiles are measured before the slitting shears. The software virtually splits the entire captured cross-section into individual strips. Traversing thickness measurements cover strip widths of up to 4 metres perpendicular to the material flow. The thickness profiles of the slit strips are determined and individually documented for each sheet ring. This means that the longitudinal position of any detected tolerance deviation is known for each strip. Seamless quality documentation enables the selection of products by order and customer, leading to a predictable ROI. To save space, the measurement system can also be mounted before the slitting shears. It is still then possible to associate the measurements with the resulting strips at different widths. All measurements are carried out during the production process (inline).