The Automatic Contour Processor was developed to aid in the manufacture of coated sleeves. One of the major problems experienced by this industry is difficulty in measuring coating thickness on a flexible sleeve substrate at a cost effective level. The MEGA-ACP eliminates this problem by providing repeatable sub-micron measurement accuracy.
The ACP-450, shown here, is a computer controlled measurement system that gives the operator the ability to measure coated sleeves or non-coated sleeves, in this case, up to a maximum length of 450mm. As the ACP is controlled by a Windows based system, data gathered can be easily transferred to other systems via network or disk for further processing and implementation.
The open architecture of the MEGA-ACP allows easy customization. Sleeve diameter, length, specialized coatings or substrates and customized software to meet the customers requirements are just a few of the many options available.
The ACP computer interface controls encoder feedback motion as well as the pneumatic system and, therefore, all aspects of measurement. Motion control is utilized for accurate vertical positioning of the measurement probe and angular positioning of the sleeve. Pneumatics are used for sleeve installation, facilitating angular positioning of the sleeve, and measurement probe control. By controlling the measurement probe with air, the customer can control the pressure the probe exerts on the sleeve. This is particularly important if sleeves are coated with soft materials, such as urethane. The measurement probe may also be customized for specific situations, as it's assembly is independent of the slide system used for vertical positioning. The entire system is supported on air shocks to isolate measurements from all outside vibrations to insure sub-micron accuracy and repeatability.
The system gains its high accuracy by taking a profile of the sleeve support mandrel at the same positions the sleeve is to be measured and subtracting those profile measurements from the sleeve measurements gathered. This yields a sleeve profile scan line. Depending how many degrees the sleeve is automatically rotated between the subsequent scan lines, a detailed 3 dimensional profile of the sleeve may be acquired. All the data is gathered by the control system computer, displayed, and stored for future use.
