Measuring wires and cables with the world's first, really contactless, portable optical micrometer

Aeroel introduces HWS.1 - Handy Wire Scanner, the first fully portable optical micrometer for non-contact measurement of wires, cables and other similar products.

Developed using LED and CCD technology, it uses 2 crossed linear sensor to automatically compensate positioning errors (Patent pending). Thanks to a powerful single chip microprocessor, the micrometer is linearized and compensated to obtain the maximum precision in the entire field of measurement, regardless of an accurate positioning of the wire.

The measurement is started by pressing the trigger and takes only a fraction of a second, the display provides the operator with interactive information to place the wire in the useful measurement area and displays the measurement result.
All measurements are saved in the memory of the scanner, associated with the date, time and the number of machine: through a USB connection, data can be downloaded to any PC. The battery is charged via the USB connector with the supplied power supply; battery life, with micrometer always active, is approximately 4 hours.

The scanner has been designed to fit into a special holder to be fixed on the machine, the holder contains a Rfid Tag that identifies the machine and which is read by the instrument at the time of measurement. The support allows to easily and quickly place the scanner, also for the measurement of moving products and it guarantees maximum precision of measurement. It is therefore possible, mounting a support on each line, to periodically monitor the production of all machines with just one micrometer!

Specifications

Measuring Field 10 mm Measurable Diameters 0.1 - 6 mm Repeatability 1 µm Accuracy 2 µm Battery Life (working) 4 h Dimensions 191 x 208 x 79 mm Weight 850 g   Applications and operating benefits

Up to now the only two real possibilities to perform the checking of the diameter of drawn or enameled wires during manufacturing were two:
1. Installation of an optical micrometer (laser) on each machine, to perform the measurement in line to check the 100% of product; in this case the check procedure achieves maximum effectiveness but it requires an investment that in certain cases does not pay back in a short time.
2. Measurement of samples, at the completion of each coil, measuring the tail of the coil itself, using a simple mechanical or digital micrometer or a measuring bench equipped with an optical micrometer and a suitable fixture for the wire sample. In this last case it is necessary to take a sample of wire from the tail of each coil and a single measurement station can serve several machines. Obviously such kind of a check is lacking or insufficient in the case of materials/manufacturing conditions that can lead to relatively rapid or even "accidental", unexpected changes in diameter.
Because of the rapid movement of the drawn wire or the presence of enamel still not dried, it is not possible to measure the wire during production, before finishing the coil; the hold-on of the process or stopping of the machine is not possible or advisable, and any attempt to measure a moving product by using a touch micrometer is vain as well as potentially dangerous.
From today the new micrometer HWS-1 enables an intermediate solution that can dramatically increase the frequency of checks all inside of a coil. The non-contact technology makes it possible Indeed the measurement of products in motion, therefore, no need to stop the process or wait for the end of a reel: the number of checks carried out inside a coil can be significantly increased. Still, if an investment really low, almost negligible, allows to equip each machine with a specially designed holder, you get two additional advantages:
1. The positioning of the micrometer is greatly facilitated.
2. At the time of reading the diameter, the micrometer reads also the Tag contained in the fixture. This lets you recognize and identify the position or the machine where you are measuring and then combine the stored results with respective positions/machines.
A single operator can monitor several lines/machines at a really very low cost; at the end of the shift the stored data can be downloaded to a PC to write and print the checking reports.
But in addition to this basic function, that is improving the sampling frequency, you can think of other very interesting uses, such as the set-up or the diagnosis of the process. An example is the process of enameling the copper wire: the modern lines start from the copper wire drawing and produce the finished product applying and drying several subsequent layers of enamel, up to the finished wire which is collected in reels. Even in the case in which the line is fitted with a laser gauge to check the final diameter, before the reeling, the hand-held optical micrometer can be very useful in case problems arise, however readily detected by the on-line gauge. In fact, the next question is: where, at which stage of the process the 'anomaly’ has occurred that led to the alarm?
So then the hand-held micrometer is useful to locate the point where the problem occurred, making measurements upstream of the final checkpoint.
In conclusion, the new hand-held optical micrometer opens up new application possibilities to enhance the quality of products and the process efficiency at a really low cost, accessible to all companies.  
More informations here.