Whether you’re creating packaging or coated paper or you’re electroplating, it’s vital that your product is made well, and coated correctly. Even in checking pipes, you want to be sure that they are properly coated to avoid disaster down the line. In each of these cases, a handheld coating thickness gauge can ensure that you are producing the highest-quality product with the lowest possible level of errors.
Not sure if you need a coating thickness gauge? Here are a few ways a handheld coating thickness gauge can improve the quality of your product and make your life easier.
Paint, Packaging and Plating Thickness Affects Quality
One of the biggest reasons to consider a handheld coating thickness gauge? The thickness of your product, be it automotive paint, electroplating or paper, directly affects the quality. For example, with automotive paint, a handheld coating thickness gauge can check for uniform paint coating, even on curved surfaces and unique surfaces.
Checking the paint coating consistency on a vehicle not only provides a better-finished product, but can also help to keep you informed about the consistency of the paint when it’s wet, and an incorrect paint consistency can affect drying times or eventual flaking of the paint film. Too little paint coating and you’re left with cosmetic issues in opacity, and protective issues like corrosion and exposure. It can tell if body work has been completed on a used car, helping the customer or dealer make a good decision on pricing.
When specificity and adhesion matter in anodizing and electroplating, the coating thickness gauge is able to read the thickness of the coating to the most minute measurement; the gauge can read measurements as low as 0.1um. This can play a major factor in preventing corrosion while optimizing the process by not using too much of the expensive plating product,. And with a ferrous substrate coating thickness gauge, you have the option of using a model with an integrated thermal printer, for when hard-copy documentation is necessary.
The coating of certain packaging must also be reliably consistent. Correct thickness is important for tagging a product, and also for the style and weight of packaging, let alone the quality of the product. For this reason, proper use of a thickness gauge can play into the overall success of your product line.
Pipe Disaster Prevention
Another way a coating thickness gauge can make a big impact? It can scan pipes to find weak spots and areas of corrosion. Knowing about these trouble spots can prevent a major disaster well before occurs, whether that be water pipes in a home or office or even the piping and tubing within an engine.
The nondestructive gauge is the perfect way to ensure that pipes haven’t eroded or worn away over time, so you aren’t left with a nasty surprise - like a major leak.
Coated Paper Quality Control
Coated papers like glossy paper, catalog or magazine paper, and enamel papers all require the correct amount of coating added to the base stock of the paper to achieve the right strength, base weight, opacity of coating, and paper grade for use in printing. An incorrect coating grade may affect print quality and customer satisfaction. For this reason, a coating thickness gauge is necessary to assure the proper coating thickness. When using a silicone release liner, a portable coating thickness gauge is the best way to optimize quality if you can't current budget for one of our online meters.
Since it’s highly portable with no moving parts, the handheld thickness gauge can be used quickly; right on the manufacturing floor. With the speed and accuracy of a coating thickness gauge and the ease of use, you can rest easy knowing you have results you can trust, and data that is gathered with almost no time interference in the manufacturing process.
A handheld coating thickness gauge is not only easy to use, it also requires little maintenance and infrequent calibration. It’s simple to implement and nondestructive, and can only result in a high quality outcome for your product.
Have questions about our portable, handheld coating thickness gauges? Get in touch with us today to see how a thickness gauge can positively impact your products.
