Handheld Coating Thickness Gauges

Portable Coating Thickness Gauges from Fischer

Coating Thickness Gauges of Highest Quality for Your Quality Inspection

Many users are not aware of that coatings are of enormous importance in industry. Often, certain products only achieve their functionality with the application of a special coating. Such coatings solve various tasks: as aesthetic finish, protection against corrosion and they fulfill mechanical functions. Therefore, the demands placed on the coating are high.

Just as important as the coating itself is to test the thickness directly during the manufacture of the products. And that's possible using a portable coating thickness gauge. In this way, cost-effectiveness and the correct function can be guaranteed. If, for example, the gold layer is applied too generously on printed circuit boards, the material costs increase immeasurably. If the layer is too thin, product failure is imminent. However, not only during production but also during the entire life cycle of ships, aircrafts and more, other safety-critical components have to be checked continuously using a coating thickness gauge. In this way, clarity is provided that the coating and the component still meet the requirements.

To ensure that quality control can be performed quickly, smoothly and reliably, the requirements for coating thickness gauges are just as high as for the coating itself. In 1953, Helmut Fischer developed and produced the first coating thickness gauge in his workshop in Stuttgart, Germany. Over the years, our portfolio of portable coating thickness gauges for non-destructive quality control has been continuously expanded, renewed and optimized. On the one hand, Fischer coating thickness gauges are characterized by a high degree of user-friendliness due to easy operation. On the other hand, you benefit from proved, precise and accurate results of your coating thickness measurements. The coating thickness gauges are portable and can be used during production as well as during the product life cycle. That aspect allows us to meet the customer needs around the world. From small coating thickness gauges with integrated probes for quick, simple field coating thickness measurement to high-end coating thickness gauges with a variety of probes and large color displays. We make sure you always have the right coating thickness gauge at hand. Measure us against our claim.

NEW! Fischer Case Study Nr. 91: Different Ways to Achieve Valid Measurement Values

Different Ways to Achieve Valid Measurement Values

Portable Coating Thickness GaugesDMP10-40

Portable Coating Thickness GaugesSR-SCOPE® DMP30

Portable Coating Thickness GaugesMMS Inspection DFT

Portable Coating Thickness GaugesFMP100 and H FMP 150, Coating Thickness Gauge

Portable Coating Thickness GaugesMP0-MP0R

Portable Coating Thickness GaugesPHASCOPE PMP10

Portable Coating Thickness GaugesPHASCOPE PMP10 DUPLEX

The Probe as Heart of the Portable Coating Thickness Gauges

As people need air to live, the coating thickness gauge needs the right probe. It's decisive for the quality of the measurement result. The probe can be considered the heart of the coating thickness gauge system. Thus, special properties have to be existent to ensure that you measure correctly.

Various influences such as the shape or surface properties of the sample to be measured affect the measurement result. Such influences must be compensated by the probe in combination with the coating thickness gauge. Therefore, rely on Helmut Fischer's many years of know-how! We offer comprehensive range of high-quality measuring probes for virtually any application! Your benefits: all measuring probes are manufactured in-house under highest quality standards and thereby, they are tailor-made for our coating thickness gauges. The result: you are always properly equipped and flexible. Best of all: with FMP coating thickness gauges, simply change the probes yourself – the gauge recognizes them automatically.

The measuring probe is the heart of the portable coating thickness gauge

The Right Coating Thickness Gauge for Every Requirement and Environment

No coating is like the other. That's why no coating thickness measurement is like the other. There are electroplated layers (for example zinc on steel), protective coatings, dry film thickness, mechanical layers, multiple layers (duplex) and many more. Therefore, no coating thickness gauge is like the other. In order to be able to solve your measuring task correctly and validly, the selection of the suitable measuring method is essential. Thus, it´s a decisive factor for the success of your coating thickness measurement. To remove any doubts: all measuring methods of our protable coating thickness gauges have in common that they provide non-destructive coating thickness measurements – without exception.

Coating thickness gauges with magnetic induction method are applied when non-magnetic coatings have to be measured on magnetizable substrates (made of steel or iron). Use our Fischer coating thickness gauges MMS Inspection DFT, DMP10 to DMP40, FMP100 and H FMP150 as well as the Fischer MP0 and MP0R series for galvanic coating thickness measurements (zinc and chrome) as well as for paints and plastics.

Using the amplitude-sensitive eddy current test method, coating thickness measurements of insulating coatings on electrically conductive – but non-magnetizable – base materials are possible. In addition to the coating thickness gauges mentioned before, with the following coating thickness gauges, such measurements are also possible: MP10 and FMP30 as well as PHASCOPE PMP10 DUPLEX.

If you want to measure an electrically conductive coating on any substrate, copper on printed circuit boards for example, you need the phase-sensitive eddy current test method. For this purposes, we have the coating thickness gauge PHASCOPE PMP10 in our portfolio.

This is also feasible with Fischer coating thickness gauges: duplex coatings, i.e. the combination of paint and zinc coatings, are characterized by a long service life – that's why they are very popular in corrosion protection and automotive construction. Our DUALSCOPE coating thickness gauges using a special duplex probe as well as the PHASCOPE PMP10 DUPLEX are often applied when solving these measuring tasks: with these coating thickness gauges, such coatings can be measured in a single measuring process.

Or benefit from the application of the magnetic method with our coating thickness gauges FMP100 and H FMP150. You can use the gauges for the measurement of magnetic coatings like nickel on non-magnetic metals or plastics. Likewise, this process can be used excellently on very thick non-magnetizable galvanic layers. For such layer systems, this process is more suitable than magnetic induction.

Conclusion: the offering of the suitable coating thickness gauge is ours – the choice is yours!

Coating thickness gauges for heavy corrosion protection

Coating thickness gauges for automotive industry

Coating thickness gauges for industrial applications

Features and Benefits of the Fischer Coating Thickness Gauges

All Fischer coating thickness gauges are user-friendly, easy to use and offer a high degree of flexibility
All our portable coating thickness gauges measure with non-destructive measuring methods
Coating thickness gauges capture measurement results automatically when the probe is put on
Wide range of coating thickness gauges for almost any measurement task in tactile coating thickness measurement
Designed for different industries and their indivudual requirements: from rugged, sturdy, simple coating thickness gauges for heavy corrosion protection duty to industrial coating thickness gauges with comprehensive statistical functions and inspection plan support
Wide range of different probes for the coating thickness gauge series FMP
Our coating thickness gauges and probes are ready-to-use out of the box: all coating thickness gauges are delivered as plug-and-play, all probes come with a factory calibration
Multiple calibration methods: normalization, corrective calibration (with one or two standards), corective calibration on coating and many more
Extensive statistical functions for data evaluation preconfigured in the coating thickness gauges
Many measurement features: offset value, outlier control, specification limit monitoring, matrix mode and many more
Fischer coating thickness gauges cover common measurement specifications such as: SSPC-PA 2, IMO PSPC, QUALANOD, QUALITCOAT, ISO 19840, AS 3894.3, SIS 184160

The exact features and benefits depend on the individual coating thickness gauges and their intended applications and industries. Check out our portable coating thickness gauges below and find out more about the individual instruments!

Get the Best Results with your Coating Thickness Gauge

Our coating thickness gauges are either equipped with a fixed measuring probe or can be connected with exchangeable measuring probes. All measuring probes are supplied by Fischer with a master calibration. Therefore, Fischer coating thickness gauges are ready to measure immediately upon delivery, with the measuring probe connected.

However, in order to achieve the best possible measurement results, the highest precision and the highest accuracy, a corrective calibration should be carried out with the coating thickness gauge. Corrective Calibrations is particularly recommended for a new coating thickness gauge, a new probe, a new measuring task or a changed measuring task. With the calibration, the coating thickness gauge takes the properties of the test part such as permeability, geometry and electrical conductivity into account.

Depending on the version of the coating thickness gauge, up to 100 calibrations can be stored in the memory of the coating thickness gauge and recalled.

Performing the Calibration with a Coating Thickness Gauge

Calibration of our coating thickness gauges is quick and easy as the software guides the user through the calibration. The procedure is as follows.

Measure 5 to 10 times on the uncoated workpiece. The coating thickness gauge takes a normalization and now knows the zero point of the coating.
Place a calibration foil on the uncoated workpiece and measure the foil thickness 5 to 10 times. Enter the nominal value of the foil in the coating thickness gauge. The more accurately the film thickness corresponds to the coating on the workpiece, the better.
In the case of a two-point calibration, measure with an additional foil at the same measuring point on the uncoated test piece. Again, enter the nominal value of the foil in the coating thickness gauge. Two-point calibration is recommended if the coating of the workpiece extends over a relatively wide thickness range. When applied correctly, our coating thickness gauges show a very high correctness and precision of the measured values over the entire range of the calibration.

Now the calibration with the coating thickness gauge is completed.

Easy calibration of the hand-held coating thickness gauges with calibration foils manufactured by Fischer

Verifying the Calibration of the Coating Thickness Gauge

If you want to be absolutely sure that the corrective calibration is correct, you can verify the calibration. Most coating thickness gauges from Fischer already include the "Ccorrection calibration check" function. This means that you do not have to compare the mean value and the setpoint of a calibration foil mathematically-statistically yourself. Feel free to leave this to our coating thickness gauges.