Plasma Coating of Airplane Parts
Plasma Coating of Airplane Parts Customer Case The customer produces plasma coating for airplane parts. They need to count the number of plasma particles on these parts so that they can adjust the plasma torch to be less or more powerful in order to obtain the required thickness of plasma coating. Using a particle detector, they are able to measure temperature, speed and quantity of particles. These parameters are used as feedback to control the plasma coating process. GaGe Case Solution The customer requires a scope card that has both high-resolution and a fast sampling rate. At the time [...]
Foam Density Measurement: Capacitance Sensors vs. Nuclear Gauges
Foam Density Measurement: Capacitance Sensors vs. Nuclear Gauges Foam Density Measurement Manufacturing EV Battery Production Thickness, Distance This application note from MTI Instruments compares two technologies for measuring foam density: capacitance sensors and nuclear gauges. It examines the basic operating principles of each technology and explains why capacitance measurement is recommended for in-line measurement during foam manufacturing. Capacitance Sensors Capacitive probes are non-contact devices that use electric fields to measure foam density. In combination with a thickness value, a density measurement may be calculated. These probes consist of a capacitance [...]
Connecting Encoders to MTI’s Digital Accumeasure
Connecting Encoders to MTI's Digital Accumeasure MTI's Digital Accumeasure D has the ability to accept one or two digital quadrature encoders. The encoders can be linear slide-type or rotary. Digital encoders allow for tracking the position of capacitive probes such that you can synchronize a probe's position with the probe's displacement data. Two common examples are: Rotary shaft runout: shaft (radial) displacement vs. angular encoder position X/Y position of probes measuring wafer thickness (map wafer thickness) Accumeasure software (basic and measurement) allows the display of instantaneous encoder counts as well as probe displacement data; however, [...]
Testing for Connector Failure Due to Vibration or Shock
Testing for Connector Failure Due to Vibration or Shock Mobile Communications Equipment Needs Reliable Connectors That Will Not Disconnect with Shock or Vibration Introduction A large multinational company approached MTI to provide a sensor capable of measuring displacement that also wouldn’t load the target (connector). Shock and vibration testing would span 2-15G and the target connectors were very small. Application MTI’s 2100 optical displacement sensor system is ideal for this kind of application because very small probes can be used and they measure displacement via reflected light. Of course, reflected light does [...]
Avionics Bus Monitoring
Avionics Bus Monitoring Customer Case The requirement is to monitor anomalies on an avionics bus that controls systems aboard spacecrafts. The customer will know typical rise times, and therefore, will look for anomalous high-voltage pulses that may occur due to sunspots or cosmic rays. An A/D card with at least 12-bits of vertical resolution is required to capture anomalous glitches for characterization. The required sampling speed is 50 KHz, on two simultaneous channels that monitor two bus lines. The input signal bandwidth is typically 4 KHz. The customer would like to write his own data acquisition application programs in [...]
Wafer Characterization
Semiconductor Wafer Characterization Surface Overview Wafer characterization is a critical part of quality control and process optimization in the semiconductor and solar industries. Accurate characterization ensures wafers meet mechanical and dimensional standards such as thickness, bow, and warp — all essential to downstream device performance and yield. Description Thickness Measurement ASTM F657: The distance through a wafer between corresponding points on the front and back surface. Thickness is expressed in microns or mils (thousandths of an inch). Total Thickness Variation (TTV) ASTM F657: The difference between the maximum and minimum values of thickness [...]
In-Situ Particle Detection
In-Situ Particle Detection Research & Development In-Situ Particle Detection Presence/Absence Description Introduction:  Foreign particles in food stuffs, plant produce, grains, etc. can lead to customer dissatisfaction when the items are packaged for sale. In some cases — it can be dangerous. Opportunity:  A major cigarette producer contacted MTI Instruments requesting a system to detect extraneous material, metal, plastic, filter fiber, and other contaminants. Background:  A cigarette’s dielectric footprint is controlled by the tobacco packing density, moisture content and the type of tobacco leaf. - packing density is controlled by the [...]
Industrial
Industrial The following example case studies demonstrate how GaGe products and services have been successfully applied in various data acquisition industrial applications. We encourage you to contact us and discuss your application in more detail with our engineering team. GaGe can provide tailored custom hardware and software solutions to meet specific application requirements. Industrial Avionics Bus Monitoring Gas Turbine Monitoring Plasma Coating of Airplane Parts Monitoring Critical Variables Nuclear Reactor Cooling Liquid Flow Measurements Pulsed Electric Field Food Processing Galvannealing Phosphor Thermometry Airborne Communications Signal Monitoring Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) NDT for Steel Manufacturing NDT of [...]
Nuclear Heat Exchanger Vibration
Nuclear Heat Exchanger Vibration Power Generation Nuclear Heat Exchanger Vibration Amplitude Description Introduction: Power plants, particularly nuclear power plants, require heat exchangers to cool down the primary working fluid for the power plant. Excessive vibration can lead to cracking and premature failure of the heat exchanger. Problem: A major power plant company approached MTI looking for a sensor that could measure vibration of a heat exchanger assembly that was immersed under water. Additionally, the water could reach 250 F and up to 220 PSI; the probe had to be sealed [...]
Fiber Optic Probes Measure Stator Bar Vibration
Fiber Optic Probes Measure Stator Bar Vibration Power Generation, Industrial Stator Bar Vibration In A High Magnetic Field Amplitude Description [Application Note 11718] One of the primary concerns in large generator design is vibration. Excessive vibration can lead to premature breakdown of insulation and other materials, ultimately resulting in early failure of the generator itself. The Problem A leading manufacturer of power generating equipment required a sensing system able to measure stator bar vibration in a partial generator mockup. Specifically, the company's multi-day testing program demanded a sensing system that was [...]