nir-vana innovation network

The UK company is a pioneer in the field of dimensional non-contact measurement (both on line and off line), designing and developing bespoke solutions with associated AI and providing ongoing support services to clients.

The systems have a detection ability which registers defects and measures them down to submicron levels (taking, processing and reporting more than a million submicron measurements per second, on or off line). The systems also provide non-contact measurement of thickness, width, form and surface structure, on or off line.

On line measurement systems are used for measuring on line thickness and or width of strip of metal or aluminium or any web product such as insulation or building material. The systems are self-calibrated and thermally stable.

The range comprises 2 main types of systems:

1) The company's Real Time Measuring System (RTMS):
This is predominantly an on line system gathering in excess of one million measuring points per second, on a surface travelling past the laser which is capable of measuring on line, surface roughness and also defects. Off line measurement systems intelligently scan and measure shape. As a result of stresses within rolled and levelled strips of material, a residual shape remains in the material resulting in edge buckle or centre buckle. When a sample of a strip is laid on a perfectly flat surface its shape can be measured, and the machinery scans the strip at specified intervals determined by the user.

The measurement process is achieved with a precision laser displacement sensor. The wave height, waves per metre and 'I-units' (measurements of dimensions, flatness etc.) are measured during each scan. Furthermore, the width, length and diagonal attributes can be measured independently of one another, with the option of user-defined thermal compensation for dimensional accuracy. Results and graphs are displayed on the screen alongside the automated flatness measurement, allowing the operator to view the flatness of each scan for guaranteed accuracy.

For full flatness measurement and quantification, there is also a machine specifically designed for aluminium litho plates. The system comprises a large (4.5 x 3.0m) high grade granite table, combined with a linear motor driven gantry system capable of scanning at over 1 m/s. Dimensions and flatness ('I-units') are measured by the automated software protocols.

2) The Company's Defect Detection and Measurement System:
This is an AI (Artificial Intelligence) based 'Defect Detection System' that also simultaneously measures the defect and compares it with pre-programmed limits. This system is capable of detecting/measuring defects as small as a few microns.
It is presently used for application in the nuclear, oil and gas industries.

The UK company is seeking overseas distributors to offer their products to companies in the steel and metal sector, aerospace industry, nuclear industry, dental research, the defence industry, the oil industry.

Advantages & innovations

• Extremely fast defect detection and measurement using laser line technology. • Automated and reproducible off-line measurements of strip or plate which can be quickly and easily achieved with the company's systems. • Some machines have integrated AI (Artificial Intelligence) software to distinguish between different types of defects - for example being able to exclude dust particles to be reported as defects- and thus is capable of measuring surface structure at extremely high resolution, presenting resulting data in a variety of formats. The measuring system can take 1 million measurement points per second to submicron resolutions • Offline shape measurement systems for strip products, measuring waviness of sheets of steel or aluminium reflecting tension in the mill • Compared to X-ray or isotopic gauges, the cost of ownership is considerably lowered by using laser thickness. • The first sold Defect Detection and Measurement System proved to reduce inspection time for the customer from 6 hrs for one component to 10 minutes with payback time seen in a week or two.

Stage of development

UNITED KINGDOM

Partner sought

The UK company's existing customers are blue chip companies, government organisations and high profile organisations globally. The company is looking for partners with existing customers and technology experience of sales made in their home country. This will include strong and established links to markets and industries such as steel and metal, aerospace, nuclear. Other sectors served are electronics, medical and dental research, Partners may have contacts with universities that have R&D departments in the above sector. The partners' role will be to promote, represent and distribute the technology and products to their home markets.