The high-speed, sweeping-beam laser profiling system from LMI Selcom enables tire manufacturers to measure thickness, width, and profile.

A new high-speed profiling sensor system from LMI Selcom enables tire manufacturers to measure parameters such as thickness, width, and profile for online and offline quality control and increased productivity. The 2301 sweeping beam sensor is a flexible and compact noncontact industrial laser-based profile sensor with an oscillating mirror that rapidly sweeps laser light across the surface of extruded rubber or other materials.

With a frequency of up to 30 Hz and a ±30^o measurement angle, the sensor achieves up to 60 profiles/second for quality control and monitoring of the production process. The 2301 is available as a complete measuring system featuring industry-standard programmable software from Bytewise Measurement Systems. According to LMI Selcom, the software saves OEMs, systems integrators, and other users the time and energy usually spent searching for and building their own systems.

Applications for the sensor system include tracking the position of surface features such as ridges, center lines, or edges in an extrusion process. The sensor is also useful for detecting tire profile center lines and for feature tracking of tread extrusions, edge tracking, gap measurement, lateral runout measurement, continuous groove depth measurement, strip placement monitoring, glue bead volume measurement, and other related applications.

The position sensitive detector (PSD) technology used in the 2301 is digitally calibrated to 4000 discrete linear points within the measurement range, making single-point or dual-head thickness measurement simple. According to LMI Selcom, unlike various other sensors, green rubber, lubrication oil, white sidewalls, high-silicon content, or lettering will not cause invalid readings.

For more information, visit www.rubber.lmint.com