Coating Thickness Measurement with Flexible Control

Paul N. Gardner’s (USA) Dualscope FMP 100 is a coating thickness guage which offers many great features. Firstly, the combination of a bright colour LC display with a touchscreen significantly simplifies settings, measurements and data evaluations. The user gains confidence in the results and convenience during the process. Also part of the pack are other modern control elements such as softkeys, menu bars and screen keyboard provide context-related support. 

Depending on the situation, the instrument can be operated with a stylus or by simply using fingers. As an option, an external keyboard, a printer or a personal computer can be connected via the USB port for data or parameter input or output. New data export in PDF format is also available. The Dualscope® FMP100 is very versatile - both as a portable unit and as a bench top system. Configurable dialogues can assist the operator, improve understanding and protect against errors. The application software based on Windows™CE enables intuitive operation due to its familiar look and feel. In addition, the practice-oriented software concept ensures that the user has the ability to both manage measurement applications and configure the instrument.   The Dualscope®FMP100 offers numerous configuration options for a clear presentation of the results. Very quickly the user will be able to create application-specific interfaces and printform templates using the drag-and-drop feature. All relevant data and the configuration of a measurement application are centrally organized and stored in an associated file. Among them are material properties and the shape of the specimen - taken into account through the normalisation and the calibration - as well as the settings for measurement, display and evaluation.   The Dualscope®FMP100 and the F-probes form an integral measurement system, harmonised for best-possible trueness and optimum repeatability precision. The high precision of the probes ensures a significantly increased measurement range - exceeding the typical range. Both very thin and thick coatings can be measured precisely. A sturdy plug-type connector ensures a reliable connection between instrument and probe.   Measurement data statistics are available at the push of a button, optionally as an individually configurable list - with characteristic statistical values such as mean value, standard deviation, confidence interval and others. In addition, various graphical display fomats provide a clear overview. Sum frequency diagram and histogram provide easily seen indications of potential systematic influences in measurement series. It is understood that there is targeted comparisons of measurement blocks.     Production processes can be evaluated at one glance, and differences between various shipments can be pinpointed quickly during the incoming inspection. In no time, coating thickness measurement with the Dualscope®FMP100 becomes a routine.