ElektroPhysik MiniTest 403 Technical Reference And Operating Manual

MiniTest 403

Technical Reference and Operating Manual

Advancing with Technology ElektroPhysik

© Print ref. # B-26-A1
Subject to change without notice

ElektroPhysik Dr. S teingroever GmbH & Co. KG
Pasteurstr. 15
50735 Köln
Deutschland

Tel.: [phone]
Fax.: [phone]

web: www.elektrophysik.com
mail: [e-mail]

Disclaimer

Inherent in ultrasonic thickness measurement is the
possibility that the instrument will use the second rather
than the first 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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Contents

Contents

1. Introduction........................................E-1

1.2 Supply Schedule .....................................E-2

2. Operation ............................................E-2

2.1 Keypad .....................................................E-2

2.2 Display......................................................E-4

3. Transducer .........................................E-7

4. Making Measurements ......................E-8

4.1 Condition and Preparation of Surfaces.... E-9

4.2 Probe Zero .............................................E-10

5. Calibration ........................................E-11

5.1 Calibration to a known thickness ........ E-11

5.2 Calibration to a known velocity ..........E-12

5.3 Two Point Calibration ........................... E-13

6. Scan Mode....................................... E-14

7. Transducer Selection...................... E-14

8. Product Specifications................... E-16

9. Application Notes ........................... E-17

9.1 Measuring Pipe and Tubing ................. E-17

9.2 Measuring Hot Surfaces .......................E-17

9.3 Measuring Laminated Materials.......... E-18

10.Sound Velocities............................. E-19

11. Af ter-Sales Service ......................... E-21

Index...................................................... E-22

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1. Introduction

The MiniTest 403 is a precision Ultrasonic Micrometer.
capable of measuring the thickness of various materials
with accuracy as high as ± 0.01mm or ± 0.001 inches.
The principle advantage of ultrasonic measurement over
traditional methods is that ultrasonic 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 MiniTest 403 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.

ElektroPhysik 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:

Introduction

ElektroPhysik
Pasteurstr. 15
D-50735 Köln
Tel.: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.elektrophysik.com
[e-mail]

ElektroPhysik USA
770 West Algonquin Rd.
Arlington Heights IL 60005
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.elektrophysik.com
[e-mail]

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1.2 Supply Schedule

· Plastics carrying case

· Gauge with transducer

· 1 bottle coupling fluid

· 2 x AA 1,5V alkaline batteries

· Instruction manual (English/German)

· Calibration certificate NIST 04-25-174-A and
04-28146-A

2. Operation

The MINITEST 403 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.

Introduction

2.1 Keypad

ON/OFF Key

This key is used to turn the MINITEST 403 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.

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The MINITEST 403 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

PRB-0 Key

The PRB-0 key is used to „zero“ the MINITEST 403 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 Section „Performing a
probe Zero“ for an explanation of this important
procedure.

Keypad

CAL Key

The CAL key is used to enter and exit the MINITEST
403’s calibration mode. This mode is used to adjust the

sound-velocity value that the MINITEST 403 will use
when calculating thickness. The gauge will either
calculate the sound-velocity from a sample of the mate­rial being measured, or allow a known velocity value to
be entered directly. Refer to section „Calibration“ for an
explanation of the two CAL functions available.

IN/MM Key

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/ms or M/s).

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Up Arrow Key

The UP arrow key has two functions. When the MINI-
TEST 403 is in calibration mode, this key is used to
increase numeric values on the display. An auto-repeat
function is built in, so that when the key is held down,
numeric values will increment at an increasing rate.
When the MINITEST 403 is not in calibration mode, the
UP arrow key switches the SCAN measurement mode
on and off. Refer to section „SCAN Mode“ for an
explanation of the SCAN measurement mode.

Down Arrow Key

The DOWN arrow key has two functions. When the
MINITEST 403 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 MINITEST 403 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 when
the MINITEST 403 is actually making a measurement.

2.2 Display

Keypad

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Display

The numeric portion of the display consists of 4 complete
digits preceded by a leading „1“, and is used to display
numeric values, as well as occasional simple words, to
indicate the status of various settings.

When the MINITEST 403 is displaying thickness
measurements, the display will hold the last value
measured, until a new measurement is made.

Note:

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

These eight vertical bars form the Stability Indicator.
When the MINITEST 403 is idle, only the left-most bar
and the underline will be on.

When the gauge is making a measurement, six or seven
of the bars should be on.

If fewer than five bars are on, the MINITEST 403 is
having difficulty achieving a stable measurement, and
the thickness value displayed will most likely be
erroneous

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Display

When the MM symbol is on, the MINITEST 403 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, the MINITEST 403 is
displaying a thickness value in inches. The maximum
thickness that can be displayed is 19.999 inches.

When the M symbol is on, in conjunction with the /s
symbol, the MINITEST 403 is displaying a sound-velocity
value in meters-per-second

When the IN symbol is on, in conjunction with the /ms
symbol, the MINITEST 403 is displaying a sound-velocity
value in inches-per-microsecond.