XRF Coating Thickness Measurement - XRF Plating Thickness Tester

Coating analysis can tell you a lot about the contents of material, item, etc. The simplest example: one can measure the content of a detail made from a certain alloy without its damage. Another way to apply the analysis is by measuring the jewelry to identify harmful or excessive impurities and gilding. Coating thickness analysis finds its way to be applied in almost every sphere of heavy and light industry, building, utility, etc.

In What Industry Coating Thickness Measurement is a Must?

Plating thickness

As coating thickness measurement with XRF allows getting an exact elemental composition of a cover, its fields of the appliance are numerous:

Light and heavy industry with the control of production quality;

Metallurgy that demands exact tests of metals and alloys contents and metal sorting;

Paint and varnish industry: analysis of lead concentration in production;

Jewelry: identification of gilding and other metals in jewelry.

As for thickness testing, the XRF analysis is widely used in utility services and industry. In most cases, it helps to guess if the detail meets the desired characteristics, which is vital in some areas (aerospace construction, for instance).

Typical types of coatings are:
· Zinc over iron/steel;
· Chrome over iron/steel;
· Nickel over iron/steel;
· Copper over iron/steel;
· Gold over copper;
· Copper over aluminum;
· Molybdenum over titanium;
· Nickel over copper;
· Any other metal over any base;

How Does XRF Analyzer Measures Coatings?

An XRF coating thickness tester, as it follows from its name, emits X-rays. These rays make the inner layers shoot the atom with an electron. The process is called ionization. While the electron from the inner layer of the atom coating is ejected and the electron is absent, the atom substitutes it with the outer electron spinning around the nucleus. This substitution emits so-called fluorescent radiation. Coating thickness measurement equipment perceives this radiation and builds a spectrum with it. This spectrum is shown on the screen, and a user can identify the thickness of the coating when they set the main element of this coating. X-ray thickness tester successfully measures the single-component coatings independently from the form and condition of a tested object.

Benefits of Using X-Ray Fluorescent for Coating Measurement

Since 1928 (the year of XRF analysis discovery), the XRF metal coating thickness tester equipment has been improved. Now, it is a very useful and comfortable way to analyze thickness with peculiar benefits for a user: The coatings analysis does not damage the material:

there is no need to cut the coating.

Modern XRF plating thickness tester is a multipurpose and mobile tool: it can analyze objects of various forms and sizes.

The analysis itself is conducted fast and can provide a user with pretty exact results.

Despite the X-ray application, such testing is one of the safest methods for a user. The radiation is given away in minimal, non-harmful amounts, with a direction that is straightly opposite to the user.

X-ray fluorescent analysis equipment is a modern way to test coating and material without stopping the production and damaging the tested item.

Handheld XRF Analyzers for Coatings Thickness Measurement

Today, different variations of XRF analyzers can be found on the market: from stable industrial items to small handheld versions.

The handheld equipment is mobile. One does not have to move or disassemble the object for the analysis. The dimensions that do not exceed a simple handheld drill allow taking the tester everywhere.

With a handheld analyzer, a user can reach the most inaccessible parts of the tested material during the coating analysis.

As a rule, handheld analyzers are not as exact as industrial ones. However, they do not require preliminary adjustment. They are designed to be universal for the majority of known surfaces and materials.

Compared to the handheld analyzers of the different principles (laser or optical emissions), XRF handheld testers have a bigger testing surface, show more exact results, and work with a wider range of tested materials.

Elvatech spectrometers provide fast, cheap, accurate, both in-filed and lab analysis of clays, slags, sand, limestone, cement, ceramics and various oxide materials and minerals.

Download the Application Note (.pdf)