BETA LaserMike Presented by: Les Jenson Chief Engineer Beta LaserMike The Development of a New Non-Contact Laser Gauge That Can Measure the Length and Speed of Moving Product with High Accuracy Les Jensen, Beta LaserMike ICE USA 2011 Technical Program

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Introduction Technology of a Non-Contact Length and Speed gauge Describe how it works Three applications examples: Corrugated Box application Roofing Products application Sanitary Products application

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Traditional Length & Speed Measurements Accomplished by using a roller that contacts the material being measured The material turns the roller as the material moves An encoder or tachometer is attached to the roller Generates pulses as the wheel or roller rotates Relies on friction between the material and roller

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Disadvantages Tachometers/Encoders Error caused by slippage Dependent on tension Product surface Lubricant on surface Recalibration Diameter change because of wear Diameter change because of build-up Maintenance Bearings and other mechanical parts wear out

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike LaserSpeed History LaserSpeed technology was developed in 1984 Aluminum/Steel Mills Small integrated gauge developed in 2001 Smaller Cheaper Easy to Install High Accuracy – 0.05%

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Non-Contact Laser Gauge Compete System in one small rugged package Sensor Processor I/O Power Supply 24 VDC operation IP67 protection Built-in water cooling ports X X 10.5 cm 2.54 Kilograms

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike System Concept FPGA- Signal processing PCB Laser diode assembly with temperature control Proprietary beams steering optics and receiving optics Measuring region

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Non-Contact Gauge Technology

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Non-Contact Gauge Technology Two laser beams cross at an angle 2K. K bisects the two laser beams Constructive and Destructive Interference cause a Fringe Pattern The Fringe Pattern consists of light and dark stripes.

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Fringe Pattern Expanded  Constructive Interference occurs when two laser beams are in phase and add together to equal the original laser density - light stripe  Destructive Interference occurs when two laser beams are out of phase and the two laser beams cancel each other out - dark stripe

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Fringe Pattern Generation Fringe Pattern looks like an elongated football Measuring region (Depth of Field) is where the fringe pattern exist Project this fringe pattern on the surface of the product to be measured

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) Theory Fringe direction

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Non-Contact Gauge Block Diagram - Dual-Beam Laser Interferometer Measurement Region Product Diode Laser Optical Beam Splitter Photo -Detector Receiving Lens (15mm) Received Light Fringe Direction Acusto-Optical Modulator

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike No Calibration Required Wave length of the laser is fixed and constant Laser diode based system Laser diode is temperature controlled Crossing angle is created optically All optics are glued in place Crossing angle is permanently fixed Fringe Spacing ‘d’ is fixed and cannot change

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike No Calibration Required Frequency measurement uses an all Digital Signal Processor Autocorrelation algorithm High measurement rate High measurement accuracy High measurement repeatability Signal processor is all digital and has no drift or measurement error

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike No Calibration Required Length is achieved by numerically integrating the speed Permanently calibrated with very high accuracy

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Corugated Box Application Drawing Paperboard through a gear-like cylinder Makes the web into waves Glue applied to tips Pressed against a liner Continuous process Needs to be cut into precise lengths

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Problem There are frequent product change-overs Requires the corrugated board to be sheered 90 feet before the cutter Knives are used to cut the corrugated board into the target lengths Cut signal was controlled from and encoder attached to a roller Roller had slippage especially when during the change-over

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Problem cont. Slippage error during change-over caused the cut length to be out of specification Roller had excessive slippage because of high speed changes during change-over 90 feet of corrugated board had to be scraped each time a change-over occurred

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Scrap Cost Calculation Scrap 90 foot for each change-over Average 25 change-over/day Cost of corrugated board/foot = $0.25 Scrap cost 90 X 25 X 0.25 X 30 = $16.875/month or $202,500/year

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Solution Installed non-contact laser gauge just upstream of the cutting knives Non-contact gauge has no slippage errors Were able to cut the corrugated board to target length even during a change-over Potential saving of $202,500/Year Reduced maintenance costs No recalibration No moving parts to wear out

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Roofing Product Application Premium Quality Organic Mat Saturated with high-grade asphalt Dried Slit to width Cut to length

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Problem Tension problems cause slippage errors Slippage error - 1% to 2% Wheel wear caused calibration errors Calibration is directly proportional to the circumference of the wheel The circumference wears because of the abrasive property of the roofing material Down time for recalibration Wear of the bearings caused maintenance problems

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Scrap Cost Calculation Average slippage error – 1.5% Average line speed 210 Ft/min Operation 22 hours/day, 355 days/year Product cost – $0.06/ft Scrap cost X 210 X 60 X 22 X 355 X $0.06 = $88,500/year

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Solution Non-contact laser gauge was installed just Upstream of the cutter Non-contact gauge has no slippage errors Potential saving of $88,500/Year Reduced maintenance costs No recalibration No moving parts to wear out

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Sanitary Products Application Manufactures adult diapers, pads, liners and pull-on style disposable underwear Slitting and cut-to-length requirements

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Problem Lubricants caused slippage errors – 2.5% Slippage errors always make the product length long 2.5% slippage error on a 1000 foot makes the actual length 1025 foot Give away 25 foot for every 1000 foot produced

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Scrap Cost Calculation Manufacture produces between $2 to $4M of product on this line per year Over length error of 2.0% cost between $40,000 and $80,000/year/machine

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Solution Non-contact laser gauge was installed on in-feed side of parent roll Non-contact gauge has no slippage errors Potential saving of $40,000 to 80,000/Year Reduced maintenance costs No recalibration No moving parts to wear out

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Summary No slippage error - optical system and does not contact the product Permanently calibrated – Laser Interferometer Optical system No moving parts to wear out Accuracy: +/-0.05% Repeatability: +/-0.02% Non-Contact Laser Gauge Advantages

Non-Contact Laser Gauge BETA LaserMike Thank You -- Questions