Olympus Magna-Mike 8600 Hall Effect Thickness Gauge

Accurate measurement of the thickness of thin-walled items such as blow-moulded plastic bottles is simpler with the Magna-Mike 8600 Hall Effect Thickness Gauge from Olympus NDT.

The portable thickness gauge uses a magnetic method to make more reliable thickness measurements on non-ferrous materials. It can be used in a wide range of applications, including measurements of thermoformed plastic trays, extruded tubing and automotive tear seams. It can also be used on glass and composites, as well as any non-ferrous metals, such as aluminium, brass, copper and titanium, with a thickness range from 0.001 to 25.4 mm.

Taking a measurement with the product is a simple procedure. The magnetic probe is held or scanned on one side of the test material while a small target ball is placed on the opposite side or dropped inside a container. The probe’s Hall effect sensor measures the distance between the probe tip and the target ball, which is instantly displayed as a digital thickness reading. Material properties do not affect accuracy.

The instrument features both straight and angled magnetic probes with replaceable wear caps to increase durability and reduce replacement costs. An assortment of magnetic and non-magnetic steel target balls, discs and wire targets makes the product suitable for applications with complex geometry where ultrasonic thickness measurements are difficult or impossible. Non-destructive measurement capabilities allow for pinpoint thickness readings in tight corners and grooves.

The instrument also boasts powerful standard thickness measurement features such as minimum and maximum scan and a strip chart view feature. The colour LCD with full VGA resolution provides good readability and a simple keypad makes it easy to access important functions. USB, RS232 and VGA outputs are provided for connection to external displays.

The product’s internal data logger provides onboard storage of thickness data of more than 475,000 thickness readings in various file formats. The unit also features a microSD card slot for additional storage and data transfer. The device can export data to the microSD card in CSV or text formats that can be copied or pasted into almost any Windows program. The included WinXL interface program allows the product to send thickness readings directly to an Excel spreadsheet.