ElektroPhysik
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advancing with technology
More About ElektroPhysik
ElektroPhysik
is one of the leading manufacturers of measuring instruments used for
advancing surface technology, research and quality control. Being a
pioneer in the field of non-destructive coating thickness measurement,
ElektroPhysik, in cooperation with national and international
standardizing institutes and universities has successfully advanced new
product developments along with international standardization of the
coating thickness measurement.
ElektroPhysik privately held company owned and managed by the Steingroever family. It is headquarters are in Kцln Germany near the famous Rein River.
ElektroPhysik still occupies the original building though it has gone
through many expansions over the years to facilitate growth.
ElektroPhysik maintains branch offices and is represented by distributors and agents globally in almost every
country in the world. It is this network and partnerships that enable
ElektroPhysik to service its customers and provide the support required
in today’s competitive global marketplace.
The
first coating thickness testing gauge was developed by Dr.
Steingroever. Utilizing the Magnetic Attraction principle, it was
called the MikroTest (still manufactured today and even available in
digital display format, it probably remains the most utilized coating
thickness testing device utilized, even today) . Magnetic Attraction is
a vary reliable technique for measuring coatings however it’s only
drawback is that it only works with coatings applied over ferrous
materials such as steel and iron.
However,
the Magnetic Attraction principle paved the way for the development of
analog devices. First using Eddy Current and then later Magnetic
Induction, these devices expanded coating thickness testing beyond just
corrosion control.
Today all three of these principles are used to non-destructively measure a variety of coatings. Magnetic Attraction is the measuring principle used in the MikroTest, PenTest and MiniPen by ElektroPhysik.
Magnetic
Induction is the measuring principle of choice for ferrous metal
substrate application while the Eddy Current principle is the measuring
principle of choice for non-ferrous metal substrate applications.
Both of these measuring principles are found in the MiniTest family of gauges as well as the eXacto by ElektroPhysik.
More
recently ElektroPhysik developed yet another measuring principle
primarily for non-metal substrate applications such plastic and wood.
The QuintSonic utilizes a high level ultrasound approach which has
enabled measurements to be conducted on these types of substrates
non-destructively.
On April 20, 2007 ElektroPhysik launched a new model, the MiniTest 700 Series with SIDSP® digital sensor technology.
SIDSP®
is an ElektroPhysik exclusive which took years of research and
development. SIDSP® stands for Sensor Integrated Digital Signal
Processing and the way that works is that entire coating thickness
measurement is processed in the sensor at the point of measurement.
SIDSP® is unlike previous conventional techniques where an analog
signal was generated at the sensor and then that signal would be sent
to a host gauge to processing. The vulnerability with that technique
was that it was susceptible to environmental influences such as strong
electro-magnetic fields and other signal disturbances that could affect
the analog signal and therefore the reading.
Coating thickness testing and more....
Over
the years ElektroPhysik has earned an excellent reputation in the
industry through the many industry and institutional partnerships.
These relationships have not only lead to further product developments
but technology diversification for different industries as well.
While
ElektroPhysik’s core products remain in the surface treatment market
with a very strongly entrenched focus on coating thickness testing,
ElektroPhysik has been able to adapt its products and technology for
other quality control needs.
Today,
ElektroPhysik has become very well know in the plastic bottle industry
through it’s MiniTest FH Series for measuring the wall thickness of all
kinds of plastic, glass and aluminum bottles and containers. This is
all achieved non-destructively which has obvious benefits.
We
at ElektroPhysik pride ourselves with our “sensor” technology, we
continually work and advancing our products in this area as evidenced
with the new SIDSP® digital technology. Another area in sensor
technology is the rate of measurement...how many reading can we process
within a second. The pursuit of this challenge has open the door for
ElektroPhysik in the areas of “On-Line” thickness measurement of
extruded products specifically plastics. ElektroPhysik’s CTM-S Online
Systems are used globally by companies who extrude plastics for thermo
forming and other applications.
The
future for ElektroPhysik holds many challenges driven by globalization
and increasing demands in the marketplace by customers to achieve even
higher levels of quality in there products. There is no doubt
ElektroPhysik will be able to stand up to the challenges as it always
has. Driven by the passion for the pursuit of new technologies and
implementing them where ever possible is why it can be said; ElektroPhysik....advancing with technology.