Related Manuals for DAKOTA ULTRASONICS ZX-6
Summary of Contents for DAKOTA ULTRASONICS ZX-6
- Page 1 OPERATION MANUAL DAKOTA ULTRASONICS Ultrasonic Multi-Echo Thickness Gauge P/N P-305-0002 Rev 1.00, September 2018...
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Page 3: Table Of Contents
CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ..............1 1.1 D ......................... 1 ISCLAIMER CHAPTER TWO KEYPAD, MENU, DISPLAY & CONNECTORS ..... 2 2.1 ON/OFF/ENTER K … ..................... 2 2.2 PRB 0 K … ........................2 2.3 CAL K ….......................... 3 2.4 GAIN K …. - Page 4 7.2 C ................28 ALIBRATION TO A KNOWN THICKNESS 7.3 C .................. 29 ALIBRATION TO A KNOWN VELOCITY CHAPTER EIGHT ADDITIONAL FEATURES ..........31 8.1 G ..........................31 8.2 H ......................32 PEED 8.3 A ..........................33 LARM 8.4 D ........................
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Page 5: Chapter One Introduction
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION The Dakota Ultrasonics model ZX-6 is a basic dual element thickness gauge with through paint measurement capability, and the ability to locate blind surface pitting and internal defects/flaws in materials. Based on the same operating principles as SONAR, the ZX-6 is capable of measuring the thickness of various materials with accuracy as high as ... -
Page 6: Chapter Two Keypad, Menu, Display & Connectors
2.2 PRB 0 Key The PRB 0 key is used to “zero” the ZX-6 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. -
Page 7: Cal Key
2.3 CAL Key The CAL key is used to enter and exit the ZX-6's calibration mode. This mode is used to adjust the sound velocity value that the ZX-6 will use when calculating thickness. The tool will either calculate the sound-velocity from a sample of the material being measured, or allow a known velocity value to be entered directly. - Page 8 The MENU key is used to access and set all of the additional features of the ZX-6 that are not at the top level of the keypad with a dedicated key. The features and setting are outlined in the table below:...
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Page 9: The Display
The icons and segments that will be used with the ZX-6 are shown in the diagram above. -
Page 10: The Transducer
For a complete list of the menu features in the ZX-6, Refer to page 3 for a list. The ZX-6 can be locked once calibrated, to avoid accidently changing the calibration. When this icon is illuminated, the ZX-6 is in lock mode. - Page 11 The Stability Indicator should have six or seven bars darkened, and a number should appear in the display. If the ZX-6 has been properly "zeroed" (see page 16) and set to the correct sound velocity (see page 18), the number in the display will indicate the actual thickness of the material directly beneath the transducer.
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Page 12: Top End Cap
When the transducer is removed from the surface, the display will hold the last measurement made. 2.11 Top End Cap The top end cap is where all connections are made to the ZX-6. The diagram above shows the layout and description of the connectors: Transducer Connectors Refer to Diagram: The transducer connectors and battery cover/probe zero disk are located on the ZX-6’s top end cap. - Page 13 C female connector. It is designed to connect directly from the ZX-6 to a standard USB type A port on a PC. The cable supplied with the ZX-6 is a USB type C to a USB type A (pt# N-003-0330). See page 43 for information on connectivity.
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Page 14: Chapter Three Principals Of Ultrasonic Measurement
CHAPTER THREE PRINCIPALS OF ULTRASONIC MEASUREMENT 3.1 Time versus thickness relationship Ultrasonic thickness measurements depend on measuring the length of time it takes for sound to travel through the material being tested. The ratio of the thickness versus the time is known as the sound velocity. In order to make accurate measurements, a sound velocity must be determined and entered into the instrument. -
Page 15: Temperature
ZX-6, and the PRB 0 key pressed to establish a zero point for the transducer connected. If the Auto Zero feature is enabled, simply pressing the PRB 0 key will perform an electronic zero to establish the same zero point. - Page 16 two elements and their delay lines are packaged in a single housing but acoustically isolated from each other with an insulated sound barrier. This allows the transducer the ability to achieve very high sensitivity for detecting small defects. Also, the surface of the test material does not have to be as flat in order to obtain good measurements.
- Page 17 Dual Element Transducer in Echo to Echo mode...
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Page 18: Chapter Four Selecting The Measurement Mode
CHAPTER FOUR SELECTING THE MEASUREMENT MODE 4.1 Which mode & transducer do I use for my application? High penetration plastics and castings The most common mode for these types of applications is pulse-echo. Cast iron applications require 1 - 5MHz frequencies, and cast aluminum requires a 7 - 10MHz frequency depending on the thickness. - Page 19 Thin materials Pulse echo mode and a high frequency transducer is commonly used for these types of applications. The most common transducers are the 7.5MHz and 10MHz models with extra resolution. The higher frequencies provide greater resolution and a lower minimum thickness rating overall.
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Page 20: Chapter Five Making Measurements
In this case the reference disk mounted to the ZX-6 is not used. This is called two- point calibration and is described on page 21. - Page 21 2) On Block Zero (Manual Probe Zero) – When this feature is enabled the transducer must be placed on the probe zero disk (battery cover) located on the top of the unit. Both zero procedures are outlined as follows: Performing an Auto Probe Zero (Off Block) 1) Be sure all couplant has been removed from the face of the transducer.
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Page 22: Material Calibration
5.2 Material Calibration In order for the ZX-6 to make accurate measurements, it must be set to the correct sound velocity of the material being measured. Different types of materials have different inherent sound velocities. - Page 23 .100” (2.54mm) to 1.0” (25.4mm), the user should calibrate on a known thickness sample close to 1.0” (25.4mm). Note: It’s always handy to carry a set of mechanical calipers to use in conjunction with the ZX-6 for calibration of various materials in the field:...
- Page 24 2) Apply a drop of couplant on the transducer and place the transducer in steady contact with the sample or actual test material. Be sure that the reading is stable and the repeatability indicator in the top left corner of the display is fully lit and stable.
- Page 25 ‘zero’ reference, performing the first point of a two-point calibration sets the internal zero of the ZX-6. This should be used only in manual probe zero mode “on block”.
- Page 26 “1 of 2”, which sets the zero value and returns to the measurement screen. Note: The internal zero of the ZX-6 is now set. The procedure above can be used to set the internal zero of the ZX-6 to use any reference standard as the ‘probe zero’...
- Page 27 (MATL) list in the ZX-6 would offer a reasonable approximation of the thickness. There are 9 common materials and 2 user programmable settings available.
- Page 28 in/µs ALUMINUM 0.250 6350 (2024) 0.233 5918 STEEL (4340) 0.223 5664 STAINLESS (303) 0.180 4572 CAST IRON 0.106 2692 PLEXIGLASS 0.094 2388 0.092 2337 POLYSTYRENE 0.070 1778 POLYURETHANE USER PROGRAMMABLE 3) When the desired MATL setting is displayed, press the key to set the material velocity and return to the measurement screen.
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Page 29: Chapter Six Through Paint Measurement - Multimode
Since the ZX-6 is a basic easy to operate gauge without the adjustability you’d get using an advanced A-Scan scope, specific diameter and frequency options can be selected as an option in the menu items. - Page 30 1) Press the key to toggle between the measurement modes; pulse-echo (P-E) and echo-echo (E-E) at any time. Note: An icon will be illuminated in the top left portion of the display to indicate ZX-6 the measurement mode the is currently using.
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Page 31: Chapter Seven Velocity Gauge
VELOCITY GAUGE 7.1 Velocity Gauge (VX) The ZX-6 includes a function to convert the unit into a dedicated velocity gauge. With this feature enabled, the ZX-6 will display all measurements in terms of velocity, inches per microsecond (IN /s) or meters per second (M /s), rather than dimensional inches or millimeters. -
Page 32: Calibration To A Known Thickness
7.2 Calibration to a known thickness In order to calibrate the ZX-6 a ‘known thickness’ on the material or part will be used. The same location will be used for all the other parts in the group/batch to determine the velocity. -
Page 33: Calibration To A Known Velocity
5) Use the keys to scroll to the known thickness value. Note: The longer the keys are pressed and held, the faster the value will increment/decrement. Note: Pressing the key prior to pressing the key will abort the cal routine without saving any changes. 6) Once the known thickness value is being displayed, press the key to return to the measurement screen and display the calculated material... - Page 34 1) Apply a drop of couplant on the transducer and place the transducer in steady contact with the sample or actual test material. Be sure that the velocity measurement is stable and the repeatability indicator, in the top left corner of the display, is fully lit and stable. 2) Press the key to enter the calibration edit screen displaying the current velocity IN /s (M /s) value.
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Page 35: Chapter Eight Additional Features
ADDITIONAL FEATURES 8.1 Gain The gain, or amplification of the return echoes, can be adjusted in the ZX-6 to accommodate a variety of materials and applications. The setting of the gain is crucial in order to obtain valid readings during the measurement process. Too much gain may result in erroneous measurements, detecting on noise rather than the actual material back wall surface. -
Page 36: High Speed Scan
8.2 High Speed Scan The High Speed Scan feature of the ZX-6 increases the overall repetition rate to a maximum of 140Hz with a high speed screen refresh rate of 25 times a second. This... -
Page 37: Alarm
8.3 Alarm The Alarm feature of the ZX-6 provides a method of setting tolerances, or limits, for a particular application requirement. This feature may be used for a variety of applications to verify the material thickness is within the manufacturer specifications. -
Page 38: Differential
8.4 Differential The Differential Mode of the ZX-6 provides the user with the ability to set a nominal value, according to what the expected thickness should be, and measure the +/- difference from the nominal value entered. This feature is typically used in QA incoming inspections on pipes, plate stock, coils, etc. -
Page 39: Units
7) When the target value is displayed, press the key to set the value and return to the measurement screen. 8.5 Units The ZX-6 will operate in both English (inches) or Metric (millimeters) units. The procedure to select the units is outlined as below: Units 1) Press the key to access the menu items/features. -
Page 40: Lite
8.6 Lite The ZX-6 uses a custom glass segmented display that is equipped with a backlight for use in low light conditions. The options are on/off/auto, where the auto setting only lights the display when the gauge is coupled to the material and receiving a measurement. -
Page 41: Beep
8.7 Beep The ZX-6 also has a feature to use the internal beeper, most commonly used with the alarm feature, for the key strokes on the keypad. When enabled, pressing any of the keys on the keypad will sound the beeper. -
Page 42: Zero
8.8 Zero There are two transducer zeroing options available in the ZX-6; auto and manual. The AUTO zero can be performed automatically without using a reference standard to zero the gauge (off block), while the MANUAL option requires a reference standard like the battery disk at the top of the gauge (on block). -
Page 43: Velocity (Vx)
Only the ‘one point’ calibration can be used with this feature active, and a manual or auto zero is still required. The ZX-6 can be calibrated by entering the known velocity or entering the know thickness of the material at a given position on the test material. -
Page 44: Probe Diameter & Frequency
5) When the desired VX setting is displayed, press the key to set the status and return to the measurement screen. 8.10 Probe Diameter & Frequency The PROB feature was added to improve linearity when using a specific probe diameter and frequency. The default standard setting is (.25 5) 0.250” 5MHz Hi Damped, and works reasonably well using a general correction curve for all of our dual element transducers in the range. -
Page 45: Lock
8.11 Lock The lock feature was built into the ZX-6 for the purpose of locking the operators out of editing any of the gauge settings, for purposes of consistency between operators. - Page 46 Factory Reset 1) With the ZX-6 powered off, press and hold down the keys while powering the ZX-6 on Note: Once the measurement screen is displayed the can be released.
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Page 47: Chapter Nine Connectivity & Power
We also offer a standard serial hardware option, as well as a wireless Bluetooth module that can be installed on the PC board of the ZX-6. Refer to our price list for additional information on communication module options and cables. - Page 48 Right click on the CDC device as illustrated above, and select “update driver”. The following window will appear: Select “browse my computer” and navigate to the directory where the driver was saved on your PC and install the driver. When the installation is completed, the following window will be displayed:...
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Page 49: Line Power
CDC device, it will be displayed to the right of the CDC device. Now that the driver has been successfully installed, a ‘keyboard wedge’ with serial communications capability can be used to connect to the ZX-6 and will capture the measurements to your PC when the ENTER key is pressed: 9.3 Line Power... -
Page 50: Appendix A- Velocity Table
APPENDIX A- VELOCITY TABLE Material sound velocity sound velocity in/us Aluminum 0.2510 6375 Beryllium 0.5080 12903 Brass 0.1730 4394 Bronze 0.1390 3531 Cadmium 0.1090 2769 Columbium 0.1940 4928 Copper 0.1830 4648 Glass (plate) 0.2270 5766 Glycerine 0.0760 1930 Gold 0.1280 3251 Inconel 0.2290... - Page 51 0.1310 3327 Titanium 0.2400 6096 Tungsten 0.2040 5182 Uranium 0.1330 3378 Water 0.0580 1473 Zinc 0.1660 4216 Zirconium 0.1830 4648...
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Page 52: Appendix B- Application Notes
At such elevated temperatures, it is recommended that the user perform calibration on a sample piece of known thickness, which is at or near the temperature of the material to be measured. This will allow the ZX-6 to correctly calculate the velocity of sound through the hot material. - Page 53 the probe be left in contact with the surface for as short a time as needed (intermittent contact) to acquire a stable measurement. Measuring laminated materials Laminated materials are unique in that their density (and therefore sound-velocity) may vary considerably from one piece to another. Some laminated materials may even exhibit noticeable changes in sound-velocity across a single surface.
- Page 54 Additionally, Dakota Ultrasonics warrants transducers and accessories against such defects for a period of 90 days from receipt by the end user. If Dakota Ultrasonics receives notice of such defects during the warranty period, Dakota Ultrasonics will either, at its option, repair or replace products that prove to be defective.