Todd Allen - Advanced Gauging Technologies

January 23, 2015 By Todd Allen

New Security Enhancements and Licensing Amendments!

Last year, Advanced Gauging Technologies partnered with the United States Department of Energy to perform a security enhancement audit of our facility. Using the information gained from this audit we implemented a plan to increase our existing security measures. This plan included upgrading existing radio controlled key systems, adding 24/7 surveillance cameras with night vision, upgrading safes and improving our existing alarm system. We are also working closely with local law enforcement to improve response times and have policies in place in case of emergencies.

In conjunction with these increased security additions, we have been able to amend our nuclear materials licenses putting us in a position to recover more isotope sources that our customers may need to dispose of. Please contact us at Sales@AdvGauging.com for more information or a quote for recovery/disposal of your radioactive nuclear isotope sources.

September 26, 2014 By Todd Allen

Harnessing Light

Article by Gretchen Salois and appears in Modern Metals Magazine, September 2014

Above: A view of the AGT400’s C-frame from behind.

Optical sensors offer alternative to nuclear-based methods for thickness gauging

September 2014 – When talking radiation, red flags often pop up. News of reactor meltdowns and toxic leaks resulting in proverbial ghostlands like Chernobyl in Russia or seaside pollution in Fukushima, Japan, come to mind. But nuclear science serves a practical purpose when harnessed in a calculated and controlled environment.

Advanced Gauging Technologies LLC’s AGT400 isotope thickness gauge has been offered for the last 17 years and the company recently introduced its latest innovation in the form of the AGT800, a laser gauge the company believes will be the wave of the future for gauging thickness. Knowing the exact dimensions of material being processed can be both cost and time saving.

“Most service centers pay for their metal by weight. If the material they receive from their supplier is not the right thickness—let’s say they order 0.18 inch and receive 0.187 inch—they can end up overpaying or having to deal with an excessive amount of scrap,” says Steve Venters, sales manager for the Plain City, Ohio-based instrument maker.

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The need for improved and reliable accuracy is only growing, especially in the aerospace, automotive, military and high-end electronics markets, adds Venters. “Many of these customers require reports and charts to verify the material thickness they receive is within specifications. The reports generated by a thickness gauge can also help a service center gain and maintain their ISO certification. Choosing a supplier that is ISO certified can often be a requirement for many end users.”

The major difference between the AGT400 and AGT800 is the method by which the gauges measure material thickness. The isotope gauge uses a radioactive source, Americium 241. This radioactive source is harnessed in a controlled environment and is enclosed in a source head located beneath the material being measured. Gamma rays are emitted when the source head’s shutter opens.

“The rays, which pass through the material are measured by a detector head located above the material which contains an ionization chamber,” Venters explains. “The gamma rays then ionize the gas atoms in the chamber and an electrical current is created. The AGT400 uses a unique algorithm and proprietary software to convert this electrical current into an accurate measurement of the material being processed.”

The AGT400 is best suited for material ranging in thickness from 0.007 inch up to 0.25 inch. “It depends upon the exact material being measured,” Venters says. The upper limit can also be increased to 0.312 inch thick when a larger ionization chamber is used in the detector head. It has a proven accuracy range of +/- 0.20 percent or +/- 0.0005 inch. Typically, the operating environment and the type of line the gauge is located on have no significant impact on the gauge’s accuracy.

The laser approach

Unlike the AGT400, the optical based system of the AGT800 laser gauge relies on advanced Keyence laser sensors to measure a material’s thickness. The Class II sensors are similar to the same sensors that scan bar codes at a retail store. “They do not generate heat and you can easily place your hand between the sensors and not feel a thing,” Venters says. “There are two sensors, one located above the material and one below it.” Each sensor sends a beam of light that strikes the material, which is then reflected back to the sensor’s receiving mirrors.

“The sensors know exactly how far each beam has traveled and they also know the exact distance between each other,” Venters continues. “This information is used to calculate with extreme accuracy the thickness of the material being measured.”

A third sensor can be added when the material passing between the sensors is not level. Mounted alongside the top sensor, it is
used to determine the passline angle of the material and then calculates the angle and applies a correction factor.

The AGT800 is designed to measure materials with a thickness range of 0.04 inch up to 0.75 inch, “although there are options available to measure thinner gauge materials as well,” he adds. The accuracy range of the AGT800 is less than 25 microns (0.001 inch). It is also alloy insensitive—it can measure virtually any type of material in coil, strip or sheet form. “Because the AGT800 uses laser sensors instead of a radioactive source, there are no costly and time-consuming government regulations required, such as leak tests,” Venters says.

Both the AGT400 and AGT800 feature automatic SPC reporting, data storage and offline data analysis. Data is stored on the gauge itself and can also be stored on a network server for easy recall of reports, Venters says. These reports provide graphic representation of the strip thickness over a coil or sheet’s length. “Both gauges will notify the operator immediately when a material’s thickness is out of tolerance,” Venters says.

Regulatory requirements

Like any isotope gauge, the AGT400 is subject to state and federal regulations, which require AM241 be tested for leaks once every six months “or once every two years if the source is in storage and not in actual service,” Venters says.

The trade-off of not having to comply with regulatory reports with the laser gauge is that the AGT800 requires a cleaner and more stable operating environment than its isotope counterpart. “Since it is an optical-based system, it is more sensitive to excessive dust, scaling and oil lubricants that are often present on some processing lines,” Venters explains. “It also requires a more stable passline and material flow to ensure the laser sensors are not damaged during line start up and tailouts.”

Both AGT model gauges have two primary components, an electronics cabinet and C-frame. The electronics cabinet contains an industrial grade computer, electronics shelf, monitor, printer, keyboard and a heavy-duty backup batter unit. The C-frame is positioned on the processing line and includes either a source and detector head (AGT400) or laser sensors (AGT800). “The C-frame will also have two Photoeye sensors which allow the C-frame to know when it reaches the edge of a coil,” Venters says. “A tachometer is also used to measure the footage of the material being processed.” MM

August 26, 2014 By Todd Allen

A.G.T. Welcomes Jim Russell To Our Service Staff

We want to welcome our newest Field Service Technician, Jim Russell. Jim has actually been with A.G.T. since August of 2013 and many of you have probably already had the opportunity to meet Jim as he has spent much of the past year working with John Fearing and Craig Walkup. A graduate of DeVry University with an Associate’s Degree in Electronic Engineering, Jim is hard working and a quick learner.

He brings with him 15 years of field service experience including several years in the steel industry. Jim resides in Prospect, OH with Dolly, his wife of 34 years. His favorite pastimes include fishing, golfing and spending time with his four children and four grandchildren. He is an avid fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes, Cincinnati Red and Cincinnati Bengals. Please welcome Jim the next time he visits your facility. You can contact him at (614)873-6691 ext. 110 or by email at JimR@AdvGauging.com.

August 14, 2014 By Todd Allen

World Class Service

Advanced Gauging Technologies excels in all areas of customer service.

Telephone Troubleshooting

Most telephone calls to A.G.T. are returned within two business hours. There is no run-around, as the technician who returns your call is fully trained to provide the assistance you need. Since we regularly service nearly 400 isotope thickness gauges, you can be sure we have the knowledge to provide appropriate information and/or guidance over the telephone at no cost.

Replacement Parts in Stock

We stock 100% of the replacement parts for GR100, GR200, and AGT400 thickness gauges, along with many common items for MDX350, GR2000, 3500, 5310 and 5320 gauges. And because we have upgraded so many of our competitor’s older thickness gauges, we even have many parts no longer available new.

Pro-Rated Travel

Occasionally, a broken gauge will require a visit by a Field Service Technician. If we have other service in your area, we will pro-rate your travel to save you money. We also pro-rate travel costs for nearly all semi-annual inspections.

July 4, 2014 By Todd Allen

Radiation And How Advanced Gauging Technologies Uses It

Radiation is a process in which energetic particles or waves travel through a medium or space. The energy released can take one of two forms. The first form is referred to as electromagnetic radiation and includes radiation like sunlight, radar and radio waves. This form of pure energy contains no weight and is considered non-ionizing as the radiated waves do not contain enough energy to ionize, or break the molecular bonds of, an atom.

The second form and the type our AGT400 gauge uses is known as particle radiation. Particle radiation includes the emissions of alpha particles, beta particles and neutrons. These particles contain both energy and mass and when they impact an atom they can cause that atom to become positively or negatively charged by displacing or adding electrons. The resulting atom does not contain equal amounts of electrons and protons and is known as an ion. For this reason, this form of radiation is also called ionizing radiation.

Atoms

Atoms are the basic building blocks of all matter. They include a nucleus composed of protons and neutrons surounded by floating electrons. The number of protons and neutrons in the nucleus determine its mass and thus the type of matter that we know it as. The periodic table of elements defines the 118 known types of chemical elements based on their atomic structure.

Radioactive Decay

Atoms want to be stable. Stable atoms occur when the nuclear binding force is sufficient to keep the nucleus of the atom together. Radioactive decay occurs when an unstable atom attempts to become stable by spontaneously emitting an ionizing energy particle. This energy loss happens when the atom’s nucleus, known as the parent radionuclide, transforms to an atom with a different nucleus becoming a daughter nuclide.

Alpha, Beta, Gamma

Radioactive decay can cause the emission of a positively charged alpha particle or a negatively charged beta particle. When these particles are ejected from the atom an electromagnetic energy wave or photon is released from the nucleus. This energy wave is known as a gamma ray.

Tying It All Together

The AGT400 isotope thickness gauge uses a radioactive source consisting of Americium 241. The radioactive AM241 source decays to stability by emitting alpha particles which are blocked by shielding within the source and gamma rays which are measured by our detector head.

Our detector head uses an ionization chamber which collects the gamma rays emitted by the AM241 source and as the gamma rays ionize the gas atoms contained within it an electrical current is established. By measuring this current we can determine how much gamma radiation is present.

Steel will block some of the gamma rays reaching the detector head’s ion chamber. The thicker the steel, the more gamma rays are blocked. The lower the radiation detected in the ion chamber, the less the voltage that is created. Using our unique algorithm and monitoring the electrical current in the ion chamber we can determine the thickness of steel up to .312″ with a ± 0.20% or ± 0.0005″ (whichever is greater) accuracy making the AGT400 Thickness Gauge the most precise metal thickness gauge in our market.