2005-04-26 - High demands on the quality of the finished products rolled in mills where productivity is continuously improved, call for outstanding performance of the measuring systems involved. By means of the new Pulsed Eddy Current technology it is possible to measure the thickness of non-ferrous strip contactless, in an absolute way with high accuracy.
ABB Force Measurement has proved the performance of the new Millmate Thickness Gauging System (MTG) in several different applications in the aluminium cold rolling mill at Alcan Singen in southern Germany. After a successful pilot installation in a tension leveling line, more gauges have been put into operation during 2003 at the Singen works. By using the MTG for automatic thickness logging in the slitting line, the rolling quality is documented for the whole length of the strip and can be used for qualification purposes in the further treatment of the aluminium sheet.
Dependability, high measuring accuracy and reliability in operation were reasons to install additional gauges. Compared to conventional contact technology, the contactless MTG gauge has the important feature of not affecting the surface quality of the strip. Finally, the MTG is also favorable regarding personal safety, in applications where it replaces gauges based on X-ray or other radiation technologies.