Metal processing industries utilize two types of functional coatings. Conversion coatings, based on Zirconium and/or Titanium, generate corrosion resistance and paint adhesion for aluminum surfaces. Another type of functional coatings are lubricants based on mineral oil, which act as corrosion protection as well as drawing and punching oil. Efficient process development and control requires the monitoring of the thickness of these functional coatings.In this article, we present a new optical setup, which uses a rotating polygon-scanning mirror in combination with laserinduced fluorescence to monitor the spatial distribution of lubricants and conversion coatings on metal sheets. In the presented setup, the beam of a 405 nm diode laser excites auto-fluorescence of the organic molecules inside the functional coatings. By using a fast rotating scanner mirror combined with a fast analogue digital conversion, the presented setup reaches data rates of 400 lines/s consisting of 1000 data points each. Installing the scanner system at a distance of 1200 mm above the metal sheets, realizes a field of view of 2200 mm. At strip speeds of 2 m/s, the distance between two scanner lines on the surface to be investigated is 5 mm.In addition to the description of the optical system, we present different approaches for the calibration of systems for inline fluorescence measurements. For the calibration of lubricant layers in the range down to one micrometer, the reference samples are weighted. To evaluate the limit of detection of the system we use a multiphase carbon analyzer. We show the calibration results for different lubricants and metal materials with different surface textures typically used in car body manufacturing.
We present a new optical setup, which uses scanning mirrors in combination with laser induced fluorescence to monitor the spatial distribution of lubricant on metal sheets.Current trends in metal processing industry require forming procedures with increasing deformations. Thus a welldefined amount of lubricant is necessary to prevent the material from rupture, to reduce the wearing of the manufacturing tool as well as to prevent problems in post-deforming procedures. Therefore spatial resolved analysis of the thickness of lubricant layers is required. Current systems capture the lubricant distribution by moving sensor heads over the object along a linear axis. However the spatial resolution of these systems is insufficient at high strip speeds, e.g. at press plants.The presented technology uses fast rotating scanner mirrors to deflect a laser beam on the surface. This 405 nm laser light excites the autofluorescence of the investigated lubricants. A coaxial optic collects the fluorescence signal which is then spectrally filtered and recorded using a photomultiplier. From the acquired signal a two dimensional image is reconstructed in real time. This paper presents the sensor setup as well as its characterization. For the calibration of the system reference targets were prepared using an ink jet printer.The presented technology for the first time allows a spatial resolution in the millimetre range at production speed. The presented test system analyses an area of 300 x 300 mm² at a spatial resolution of 1.1 mm in less than 20 seconds. Despite this high speed of the measurement the limit of detection of the system described in this paper is better than 0.05 g/m² for the certified lubricant BAM K-009.
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