Development of a novel industrial thickness measurement system of feedstocks for the first time based on focusing radar technology

For the manufacture of sheet products, flat-rolled steel is cut into strips of defined width in steel service centers. In order to maintain tolerances and ensure quality, the dimensions of the end products are recorded in steel service centers during operation and tracked for the customer. At present, the dimensional accuracy of this strip width is checked optically in the process using camera technology. The measuring accuracy of the optical methods is strongly affected by environmental influences and cannot be implemented continuously in the cutting process. In addition to information on the width of the steel strips, customers require inline recording of the thickness values of the cut steel strips for quality control purposes. For the thickness determination of the steel strips during the cutting process, a novel interference-insensitive first radar-based measuring method is being developed. The aim of the project is to develop a thickness measurement process of sheet metal using a new type of focused radar technology. For the first time, a focusing lens system to bundle radar waves is being developed in order to achieve measurement accuracies of up to 5 micrometers.

Part­ners
imess GmbH, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Integrated Systems)