Saint-Gobain has selected MTI Instruments' nondestructive measurement technology to help streamline Saint-Gobain's manufacturing research and development.
Saint-Gobain, a French multinational corporation that designs, manufactures and distributes various high-performance materials, chose MTI Instruments as a partner after identifying that the process for producing accurate and repeatable measurement solutions was time consuming and cost prohibitive. Saint-Gobain estimated that just 30% of its process improvement projects reach factory implementation. Seeking an alternative specifically to measure closed-cell foam density, Saint-Gobain worked with MTI Instruments to install a digital, capacitance-based Accumeasure system.
"We chose MTI Instruments' Digital Accumeasure product for many reasons. The noncontact technology was just one of the pluses," said Dr. Mickael Boinet, Smart Manufacturing Team Leader at the Competency Research Laboratories at Saint-Gobain. "We investigated various impedance measurement companies in Europe, but ultimately determined that the amplifier made by MTI Instruments was superior."
To determine the material's density, MTI Instruments first reconfigured its Accumeasure amplifier and probes to measure the capacitance of Saint-Gobain's closed-cell foam. A calibration procedure then removed the need for time consuming calculation, since a nonconductive material's capacitance is directly proportional to its density provided the thickness of the material is also known. Subsequent factory testing proved that the solution met Saint-Gobain's requirements.
MTI Instruments continues to research additional methods to improve non-ontact thickness and density measurements for Saint-Gobain's nonconductive materials.
"Our mission is to provide material manufacturers, like Saint-Gobain, with real-time measurement systems using nondestructive methods. As needs evolve, we will be ready to provide next-level solutions," said Moshe Binyamin, President of MTI Instruments.
"MTI Instruments' digital Accumeasure system uses a direct-conversion approach that eliminates the errors of traditional amplifiers, which include analog filtering, linearization, range extension and summing of channels. The technology features accurate data capture with lossless processing, which eliminates the need for additional data-acquisition hardware," said a company spokesperson.
As a U.S. manufacturer, MTI Instruments' products are designed, manufactured and supported in Albany, NY.
For more information contact:
MTI Instruments, Inc.
325 Washington Ave. Extension
Albany, NY 12205
800-342-2203
www.mtiinstruments.com
Saint-Gobain North America
20 Moores Road
Malvern, PA 19355
254-918-2313
www.saint-gobain-northamerica.com