Checkline MX-5 User Manual

OPERATION MANUAL

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DAKOTA ULTRASONICS MODEL MX-5 ULTRASONIC THICKNESS GAUGE

Copyright  2008 Dakota Ultrasonics. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated into another
language, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written consent of Dakota Ultrasonics.

Every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this publication.
Dakota Ultrasonics assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions.
Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of
information contained herein.

Any brand or product names mentioned herein are used for identification
purposes only, and are trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective holders.

1500 Green Hills Road, #107 Scotts Valley, CA 95066 USA

Tel [phone] Fax [phone]

www.dakotaultrasonics.com

CONTENTS

MX-5 Ultrasonic Thickness Gauge

INTRODU CTION
OPERATION

THE KEYPAD
THE DISPLAY
THE TRANSDUCER
MAKING MEASUREMENTS
CONDITION AND PREPARATION OF SURFACES
PROBE ZERO
CALIBRATION

SCAN MODE, ALARM MODE, DIFF MODE, RS232 PORT
TRANSDUCER SELECTION
APPENDIX A: PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
APPENDIX B: APPLICATION NOTES

1
3
3
7

9
10
12
13
14
18
23
27
29

APPENDIX C: SOUND VELOCITIES OF COMMON MATERIALS
WARRANTY INFORMATION

33
35

DISCLAIMER

Inherent in ultrasonic thickness measurement is the possibility that the
instrument will use the second rather than the fi rst echo from the back
surface of the material being measured. This may result in a thickness
reading that is TWICE what it should be. Responsibility for proper use of
the instrument and recognition of this phenomenon rests solely with the
user of the instrument.

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INTRODUCTION

The Dakota Ultrasonics model MX-5 is a precision Ultrasonic
Micrometer. Based on the same operating principles as SONAR, the MX-5
is capable of measuring the thickness of various materials with accuracy as

high as ± 0.001 inches, or ± 0.01 millimeters. The principle advantage of
ultrasonic measurement over traditional methods is that ul trasonic
measurements can be performed with access to only one side of the
material being measured.

This manual is presented in three sections. The first section covers
operation of the MX-5, and explains the keypad controls and display. The
second section provides guidelines in selecting a transducer for a specific
application. The last section provides application notes and a table of
sound velocity values for various materials.

Dakota Ultrasonics maintains a customer support resource in order to
assist users with questions or difficulties not covered in this manual.
Customer support may be reached at any of the following:

• Dakota Ultrasonics, 1500 Green Hills Road, #107
Scotts Valley, CA 95066 USA

• Telephone: [phone]

• Facsimile: [phone]

• www.dakotaultrasonics.com

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OPERATION

The MX- 5 interacts with the operator through the membrane keypad
and the LCD display. The functions of the various keys on the keypad are
detailed below, followed by an explanation of the display and its various
symbols.

The Keypad

This key is used to turn the MX-5 on and off. When the gauge is turned
ON, it will first perform a brief display test by illuminating all of the
segments in the display. After one second, the gauge will display the
internal software version number. After displaying the version number, the
display will show "0.000" (or "0.00" if using metric units), indicating the
gauge is ready for use.

The MX- 5 is turned OFF by pressing the ON/OFF key. The gauge has
a special memory that retains all of its settings even when the power is off.
The gauge also features an auto-powerdown mode designed to conserve
battery life. If the gauge is idle for 5 minutes, it will turn itself off.

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The PRB- 0 key is used to "zero" the MX-5 in much the same way that a
mechanical micrometer is zeroed. If the gauge is not zeroed correctly, all

of the measurements that the gauge makes may be in error by some fixed
value. Refer to page 13 for an explanation of this important procedure.

The CAL key is used to enter and exit the MX- 5's calibration mode.
This mode is used to adjust the sound-velocity value that the MX- 5 will use
when calculating thickness. The gauge will either calculate the sound­velocity from a sample of the material being measured, or allow a known
velocity value to be entered directly. Refer to page 14 for an explanation of
the two CAL functions available.

The IN/MM key is used to switch back and forth between English and
metric units. This key may be used at any time, whether the gauge is

displaying a thickness (IN or MM) or a velocity value (IN/µs or M/s).

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The UP arrow key has two functions. When the MX- 5 is in calibration
mode, this key is used to increase numeric values on the display. An auto­repeat function is built in, so that when the key is held down, numeric

values will increment at an increasing rate. When the MX- 5 is not in
calibration mode, the UP arrow key switches the SCAN measurement
mode on and off. Refer to page 18 for an explanation of the SCAN
measurement mode.

The DOWN arrow key has two functions. When the MX- 5 is in the CAL
mode, this key is used to decrease numeric values on the display. An
auto-repeat function is built in, so that when the key is held down, numeric
values will decrement at an increasing rate. When the MX- 5 is not in
calibration mode, the DOWN arrow key switches the display backlight
between three available settings. OFF will be displayed when the backlight
is switched off. AUTO will be displayed when the backlight is set to
automatic mode, and ON will be displayed when the backlight is set to stay
on. In the AUTO setting, the backlight will illuminate while the MX-5 i s
making a measurement and turn off after several seconds to conserve
battery life.

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The ALRM key has two functions. By holding down the ALRM key
when powering up the MX-5, the audible beeper will be turned on or off

accordingly. After the unit has been turned on, pressing the ALRM key will
toggle the alarm mode to the on/off positions and allow the user to enter a
nominal thickness value. Refer to page 19 for details on how to use the
alarm feature.

The DIFF key is used to enable or disable the Differential mode and
allow the user to enter a nominal value as a comparison against actual
thickness measurements. Refer to page 20 for a complete explanation of
this feature.

The SEND key is used to send the currently displayed thickness
measurement to an external storage device via the MX- 5's RS232 port.

Refer to page 21 for an explanation of how to use this feature.

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The Display

The numeric portion of the display consists of 4 complete digits
preceded by a leading "1", and is used to display numer ic values, as well
as occasional simple words, to indicate the status of various settings.
When the MX-5 is displaying thickness measurements, the display will hold
the last value measured, until a new measurement is made. Additionally,

when the battery voltage is low, the entire display will begin to flash.
When this occurs, the batteries should be replaced.

These eight vertical bars form the Stability Indicator. When the MX-5 is
idle, only the left -most bar and the underline will be on. While the gauge is

taking a measurement, six or seven of the bars should be on. If fewer than
five bars are on, the MX-5 is having difficulty achieving a stable

measurement, and the thickness value displayed will most likely be
erroneous.

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When the IN symbol is on, the MX-5 is displaying a thickness value in
inches. The maximum thickness that can be displayed is 19.999 inches.

When the MM symbol is on, the MX- 5 is displaying a thickness value in
millimeters. If the displayed thickness exceeds 199.99 millimeters, the
decimal point will shift automatically to the right, allowing values up to

1999.9 millimeters to be displayed.

When the IN symbol is on, in conjunction with the /µs symbol, the MX-5
is displaying a sound-velocity value in inches- per-microsecond.

When the M symbol is on, in conjunction with the /s symbol, the MX- 5
is displaying a sound-velocity value in meters-per-second.

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The Transducer

The transducer is the "business end" of the MX-5. It transmits and
receives ultrasonic sound waves that the MX- 5 uses to calculate the
thickness of the material being measured. The transducer connects to the
MX-5 via the attached cable, and two coaxial connectors. When using
transducers manufactured by Dakota Ultrasonics, the orientation of the
dual coaxial connectors is not critical: either plug may be fitted to either
socket in the MX-5.

The transducer must be used correctly in order for the MX- 5 to produce
accurate, reliable measurements. Below is a short description of the

transducer, followed by instructions for its use.

This is a bottom view of a typical transducer. The two semicircles of the
wearface are visible, as is the barrier separating them. One of the
semicircles is responsible for conducting ultrasonic sound into the material
being measured, and the other semicircle is responsible for conducting the
echoed sound back into the transducer. When the transducer is placed
against the material being measured, it is the area directly beneath the
center of the wearface that is being measured.