DeFelsko PosiTector Thickness Gauge -For Plastics, Carbon Fiber and fiberglass
The following item takes approx 3-5 day to ship from our Sydney warehouse.
The PosiTector 200 B ultrasonic coating thickness gage is ideal for measuring paint thickness on automotive plastic bumpers, fascias and other exterior and interior parts. It is ready to measure out-of-box with no calibration adjustment required for most applications.
Two models:
- The PosiTector 200 B1 (Standard model) is the economical and most common solution for measuring the TOTAL coating thickness.
- The PosiTector 200 B3 (Advanced model) is capable of measuring both TOTAL coating thickness and up to 3 individual layer thickness in a multi-layer systems.
How it Works:
The PosiTector 200 B probe emits a high frequency sound pulse that travels into the coating via a coupling gel and reflects from ANY surface that is different in density. Coating thickness readings are obtained by measuring the time taken for the ultrasonic signal to propagate from the probe tip to the coating/substrate interface and back. The travel time is divided by two and multiplied by the velocity of sound in the coating to obtain the thickness of the coating.
Automotive coatings are characteristically multilayer systems consisting of an adhesion promoter, primer, basecoat and clear coat layers. This application note focuses on measuring the total combined thickness of the paint system over plastic bumpers and fascias. For information on multi-layer automotive paint measurement see our Ultrasonic Paint Thickness Measurement - Plastic Substrates application note. Specifically, the section "Application #4 Measuring the Individual Layer Thicknesses in a Multi-layer Application".
How to Measure
The PosiTector 200 B is ready to measure automotive paint thickness out-of-box with no adjustment required. For best results measuring the overall total coating thickness applied to bumpers/fascias, we recommend enabling Max Thick Mode within the Setup menu. Once enabled, follow these simple steps.
- Squeeze a droplet of ultrasonic gel (couplant) onto the coated bumper or fascia.
- Place the probe onto the gel and press down to initiate a measurement.
- Lift the probe when a double beep is heard and the measurement is displayed. A second reading may be taken at the same spot by continuing to hold the probe down on the surface.
The displayed measurement indicates the total thickness of the paint system. The following images are examples of the PosiTector 200 B Standard and Advanced measurement screens in Max Thick Mode.
In the above example (right), Layer 1 is 2.0 mils thick. Layer 2 is 1.4 mils thick. Total thickness is 3.4 mils. The graphical display shows two "peaks" representing two distinct material interfaces. Although the coating system is actually comprised of 4 layers, the instrument combines the thicknesses of the first 3 layers (adhesion promoter, primer, base coats) into one value of 1.4 mils. The final top clear coat is measured individually as 2.0 mils. The total coating system thickness is 3.4 mils. For more information on the Graphics mode and measuring multiple layers click here.
Note: The PosiTector 200 B can also display measurement values in micron units (metric).
When finished measuring, wipe the probe and the surface clean with a tissue or soft cloth. It's that easy.
As automobile manufacturers continue to add more monitoring systems to their vehicles, the need to accurately measure the coating thickness applied to plastic auto bumpers/fascias with integrated sensors is becoming imperative.
The PosiTector 200 B by DeFelsko is the simple, durable, and accurate way to perform nondestructive measurements of coatings applied to plastic car bumpers integrated with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensors.
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