Non-Destructive, High-Performance Measurements of Thickness and Coat Weight for the Converting Industry

Presented by Aziz Familia, SpecMetrix Systems (Sensory Analytics)

Global estimates for the abrasion resistant, silicone, and adhesive coating markets are expected to reach $12.4B, $6.8B, and $52B respectively by 2025. Other coating applications such as flexible packaging, moisture, oxygen barriers, and batteries are also forecasted to grow rapidly in the incoming years. Accurate coat weight/thickness measurements play a critical role in ensuring the correct functionality of the end-products in which these in-demand coatings are used. Therefore, the ability to capture real-time measurement and coating quality feedback during production is quite advantageous and necessary to make data driven decisions in manufacturing. Converters and manufacturers can immediately benefit from improved product quality, optimized coating utilization, and increased line throughput while reducing plant production costs and waste streams. Many of these coatings are applied in web configurations with roll-to-roll applications. The significant new capability to catch issues and make coating adjustments immediately after application is paramount for process control. Using the presented patented ruggedized optical interference measurement technique, absolute coating thickness (or coat weight) can be measured precisely at high measurement speeds in production environments. In-process measurement results on various coatings and applications as well as a review of the repeatability, stability, and accuracy of the measurement method will be presented.