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Coating Thickness Measurement
Technical Note

 

Multi-Layer Measurement Set-up
on a PosiTector 200 B/Adv

When measuring a coating application for the first time, it is best not to guess at the number of layers. Instead, measure the total thickness first and examine the graphical display.

Begin by turning graphics mode ON. Set the number of layers to one (1) so that the gage reports total thickness. Observe the graphical display during repeated measurements and note how many “peaks” regularly appear.

The first measurement taken on this wood part is 39 microns This low result is caused by surface echoes. A small triangle points to the dominate peak that is measured.

Note that two slightly smaller peaks can be seen lower down representing two coating layers.

Two adjustments are required in order to measure the thicknesses of these two layers.

 

Step 1:

The first adjustment is to eliminate the possibility of surface interference. Using the PosiTector 200’s menu, the minimum allowable thickness value (Gate A) is raised from 13 microns to 51 microns.

With this new Gate A setting, a second measurement is taken with a result of 171 microns. This represents the total thickness of the coating system. Two strong peaks indicates the gage still detects two paint layers.

Step 2:

Using the PosiTector 200’s menu, the number of layers is changed from one to two.

A final measurement reveals the individual thicknesses of two layers in the coating system.

Note the total thickness is still reported as 171 microns.

The top layer is 138 microns and the bottom, primer layer is 33 microns.