Factors Affecting Coating Thickness Gauge Measurement

1. Where is coating thickness gauge used?

There are many basic principles of coating thickness gauges. The main methods are eddy current detection and magnetic detection principles. The coating thickness gauge is very practical and applicable. Magnetic and eddy current coating thickness gauges can be used to measure all the coatings on metal substrate. Its use in the industry is more complicated and it can detect the coating thickness attached to the surface of most substances, such as steel structure fire-resistant coatings, paint coatings and anticorrosive coatings.

Most modern coating thickness gauges are simple to use and can be operated without training. The accuracy of the data is high and the sensitivity is high. Many industries are accustomed to self-inspection before submitting products for inspection. This is helpful to reduce the return rate and reject rate of the products. The practical significance is quite obvious.

2. Steel structure fire-resistant coating thickness

We can easily know that this is a layer of coating that adheres to the steel structure surface for protection and fire protection. Its thickness is closely related to fire resistance performance and even a decisive factor. We usually monitor the coating thickness with a coating thickness gauge.

(1) The coating is too thick

The most direct loss caused by fire protection coatings above the standard thickness is the increase in cost consumption. This fire protection coating for steel structures requires more raw materials and manual effort. In addition, too thick coatings are not easy to apply uniformly. When the light is refracted, it is easy to find that the surface is uneven and has grooves and protrusions.

(2) The coating is too thin

The primary problem of thin coatings is that the protective effect is not obvious, and the basic performance of fire protection is difficult to reflect. When applied to actual life, the life of the support is often short, and cracking, peeling, and moulting occur frequently. The thin steel structure fire-resistant coating has its own decorative properties, but the occurrence of this problem will greatly affect its actual effect.

3. Factors affecting the coating thickness measurement by coating thickness gauge 

(1) Base metal thickness

When we use a coating thickness gauge to measure the fire-resistant coating thickness on steel structures, we also need to pay attention to the base metal thickness. It can be said that all coating thickness gauges on the market have a critical measurement value and we need to estimate that the base metal thickness cannot exceed a predetermined critical value.

(2) Surface roughness

The degree of roughening of the measured object surface will have a certain effect on the thickness measurement result. In theory, the stronger the roughness, the higher the inaccuracy of the final data. The multiple selection and measurement on the steel structure fire-resistant coating surface is the fundamental way to reduce accidental errors and system errors.

(3) Magnetic field

Since the coating thickness gauges mostly use the eddy current principle or the electromagnetic principle, there will be some interference in the magnetic field around them during real detection. In some fields of electrical equipment production, the strength of the magnetic field in the environment is large. The interference to the detection is getting worse.

(4) Surface cleanliness

When we use a coating thickness gauge to measure the coating thickness, we often keep the object surface to be clean. On the one hand, it can greatly reduce the pollution to the instrument and prolong the working time; on the other hand, it can also improve the accuracy of the results.
       In many industries in China, the coating thickness gauge has superior measurement performance. The effect is more obvious in the detection of fireproof coatings on steel structures. The advantages it brings are multifaceted, that is, it can save costs and improve processes.