Thickness Gauging For Rolled Lead Strip.
Non-contact laser measurement built for the rolling mill. Edge, centre and edge on every foot of the coil, installed after the last stand by our engineers, with closed-loop output to your mill controls.
Built For The Mill.
Designed around a lead rolling line, not adapted from a general purpose gauge. Three things it does that a hand micrometer on a strip sample cannot.
It Measures Where The Mill Actually Varies
Rolls deflect, crown and wear, so a rolled strip is rarely the same thickness at the edges as it is in the middle. The Rolled Lead Strip app measures at three preset points, edge, centre and edge, and reports each one plus the difference between them. A single-point reading gives you an average. Three points tell you what the roll gap is doing.
It Sees The Whole Coil, Not A Sample
A micrometer check is one spot on one strip, minutes apart. MG3 runs continuously with the line, and with line speed from your PLC the run chart plots thickness against length instead of time. Every foot of the coil is on the chart, tagged with the coil number, and a coil report is generated when the PLC says the coil is done.
It Closes The Loop With Your Mill
Thickness is published to your PLC over Ethernet/IP at 1 Hz, so the mill control can act on it. On a recent commissioning, the mill builder's own PID routine, running on MG3 data, held the strip inside a ±0.1 thou deadband through steady state and recovered cleanly from the dip every coil changeover puts into the strip.
Roll temperature, wear and strip tension all move thickness through a coil. Continuous measurement sees it start, not at the next spot check.
Shuttle mount that slides clear for threading, air purge for oil mist, and an automatic thickness reference that corrects for thermal drift beside the stands.
The margin you carry to stay above the lower limit is lead given away on every coil. Knowing the real number, edge to edge, removes it.
What Is Your Variation
Actually Costing?
Put in your line speed, strip width, lead price and your own standard deviation. The estimator shows the math it used, so you can check every number rather than take ours on faith.
No sign-up. Runs in your browser.
The Software Is The Difference.
mgOS filters and processes the thickness waveform to extract and record measurements and KPIs, published continuously to a touchscreen HMI at the mill and to your PLC.
Location detail view: mean, max, min and the I-Unit waviness figure for each measurement point, with the surface waveform beneath.
What an operator reads off it
-
Edge, centre, edge
Thickness at three preset locations, named to match your mill, with the overall mean beside them. Toggle between the overall view and the three-location view.
-
Difference, then drift
Max minus min across the strip says whether the roll gap is even. The mean against nominal says whether the whole strip is drifting. Two problems, two different adjustments.
-
Wavy strip, before it jams
An I-Unit waviness figure on every scan, with a PLC alarm when it crosses your threshold. Flat strip reads zero.
-
The coil, by the foot
Length-based run chart with the coil number from your PLC, and a coil report generated on demand when the coil is complete.
Closed-Loop Control
Thickness and a corrected speed target on PLC tags for your mill control, or PID in mgOS with configurable deadband, step and delay. A start-up delay rides out the coil changeover.
Edge-Centre-Edge Profile
Three gauge-and-go locations per scan, each with mean, min, max and standard deviation, plus the difference across the strip.
Wavy Strip Detection
I-Unit calculated on every pass, filtered out of the closed-loop feed when the strip is wavy, and raised as a PLC alarm at your threshold.
Alarms & Alerts
Configurable alerts against your spec and action limits, raised on the HMI, the stacklight or as a PLC signal the instant the strip drifts.
Coil Reports
Every scan logged with product, nominal, coil number and line position. PDF coil reports on a PLC trigger, CSV for offline analysis. Zero manual data entry.
PLC & API Integration
Product switching, line speed, coil number, auto start and stop, and result publishing over Ethernet/IP, with support for Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Omron controllers.
Your Hand Mic. Upgraded.
Everything your operators know about micrometers, in digital form. Inline, continuous, logged automatically, and with zero contact pressure, so nothing marks the strip and nothing depends on how hard someone closes the anvil. Configure every detail to match the checks you already run.
Configurable Anvil Size.
Set the virtual anvil to match the hand mic your QA team already uses. Flat, disk, or point, each one averages over a different footprint. Larger anvils give more stable readings on a textured strip surface, smaller ones give finer point-by-point detail, and every VMic across the strip can carry its own size.
As Many Or As Few As You Need.
Define the number of VMic readings taken across the strip. Match the points your QC procedure already calls for, typically the two edges and the centre, or add more for a fuller profile. Centred, custom-positioned or zone-based, saved per product.
Spacing That Matches Your Strip.
Place VMics evenly across the strip, weight them toward the edges where roll deflection shows first, or cluster them at a known problem zone. Spacing is fully configurable and recalled automatically when the product changes.
Three anvil styles mapped onto virtual micrometer positions on a thickness profile.
MG3-RLS. The Numbers.
Engineered for the rolling line. Class 2 lasers, 30 mm standard sensors with sub-micron resolution, 1 to 5 kHz sampling, and an automatic thickness reference that compensates for thermal expansion.
MG3-RLS running on rolled lead strip.
- 2× laser sensors, 30 mm standard (Class 2)
- Scanning C-frame, belt-driven actuator
- 15″ touchscreen HMI
- Automatic thickness reference (TR)
- NIST-traceable calibration block
- Automatic strip edge detection
- mgOS with the Rolled Lead Strip app
- PLC integration over Ethernet/IP
Ordered separately: MG3-RLS shuttle mount (sliding bracket for maintenance access), closed-loop module, and commissioning (remote or on-site).
- Resolution0.5 µm
- Accuracy (Typical)2 µm
- Thickness Range0 to 8 mm
- Stroke515 mm [20.3 in]
- Measurement Locations3 (Edge, Centre, Edge)
- Scanning Speed150 mm/sec
- Measurement Frequency1 to 5 kHz
- Laser ClassClass 2
- C-Frame Gap65 mm
- Operating Temperature5 to 50 °C
Mounts After The Last Stand.
The gauge sits after the final set of rollers, where the strip is at finished thickness and under tension. A shuttle mount slides it clear for threading and maintenance. A Mate Gauge engineer issues the drawings ahead of your shutdown and commissions the system on site.
MG3-RLS after the rollers, with the HMI at the operator position and the strip running on to the coiler.
-
01
After The Rollers
Positioned after the last set of rollers with minimal line modification. The strip runs through the 65 mm C-frame gap under tension, centred between the sensors, so the reading is the finished thickness heading to the coiler.
-
02
Shuttle MountP/N 10044015
A sliding bracket carries the gauge clear of the strip for threading, roll changes and maintenance, then returns it to the same measuring position without re-alignment.
-
03
PLC & Mill Integration
Connects to your line controls over Ethernet/IP for line speed, coil number, product switching and result publishing. On mills with an adjustable gap or drive, the same connection carries the closed-loop correction.
-
04
Automated Operation
Auto start and stop from line state, automatic thickness reference during the run, and a cleaning alert before oil mist on the glass affects the reading. Once installed it runs with the line.
From Line To Live Data.
Once installed on your rolling line, MG3-RLS runs continuously. The Rolled Lead Strip app in mgOS handles scanning, measurement, processing, display and alerts, with optional closed-loop output back to the mill.
Line Starts, Gauge Starts
Auto start and stop follows the line state from your PLC. A start-up delay rides out the coil changeover before the first reading is published.
Gauge And Go At Three Points
Sensors travel to each preset location, dwell for a microscan, and capture thickness at 1 to 5 kHz. Edge, centre, edge, then back again.
Live Data Processing
mgOS applies peak averaging to match your micrometer and calculates the three-location values, overall mean, difference and I-Unit waviness.
Display & Alerts
Results on the HMI at the mill, plotted against coil length, and published to PLC tags. Out of spec raises an alarm, a stacklight, and a PLC signal.
Mill Correction
Optional closed loop feeds the mill control a corrected target, so the roll gap answers back before the next spot check would have happened.
See It On The Strip.
Easier shown than described. A short walkthrough of the MG3-RLS on rolled lead strip: the three-point measurement, what the operator reads on the HMI while the coil runs, and how the data gets back to the mill.
-
Edge, Centre, Edge
Watch the C-frame step to each location and what the three readings tell you about the roll gap.
-
The Operator View
Mean, difference and the three traces on the run chart, live at the mill, without pulling a sample.
-
Back To The Mill
How thickness reaches the PLC and what closing the loop does to the coil.
Worth Reading.
Featured Article
Fixed sensors, or a gauge that moves?
A fixed pair reads one line down the strip and cannot check itself as the frame heats up. This article covers the five reasons the C-frame scans, and what a fixed head misses on a rolling line.
-
How It Works
Non-Contact Thickness Measurement
Two opposed laser sensors, one gap, one thickness. How triangulation gives you a micron reading without touching the strip.
-
Lead Strip
Cast Lead Strip Field Data
A year of strip data from a working caster, and what closed loop did to the distribution. The same platform, one process upstream.
-
Tool
Savings Estimator, Strip Mode
Your line speed, strip width, lead price and your own standard deviation. Shows its working so you can check every line.
More From Mate Gauge.
MG-CLS · Cast Lead
Cast Lead Strip
Every strip off the drum measured individually, up to seven in one pass, with closed-loop control back to casting speed.
Learn More →
MG3 · Pasting
Lead Pasting Line
Both lanes of pasted plates measured without touching the paste, wet side, dry side or stacker, with closed loop to the hopper.
Learn More →
MGX · Benchtop
Battery Separators
Benchtop measurement of rib and backweb thickness on lead-acid battery separators.
Learn More →Reduce Waste. Improve Consistency.
Automate Control.
We will spec the right system for your mill, your strip, and your control system. Send us these six things and an engineer will come back with a configuration, not a brochure.
Tell us about your mill
- Strip thickness and target
- Mill make and number of stands
- Strip width
- Line speed
- PLC and whether the roll gap is servo adjustable
- Space after the last stand
Thickness Gauging For Rolled Lead Strip.
Non-contact laser measurement built for the rolling mill. Edge, centre and edge on every foot of the coil, installed after the last stand by our engineers, with closed-loop output to your mill controls.
Built For The Mill.
Designed around a lead rolling line, not adapted from a general purpose gauge. Three things it does that a hand micrometer on a strip sample cannot.
It Measures Where The Mill Actually Varies
Rolls deflect, crown and wear, so a rolled strip is rarely the same thickness at the edges as it is in the middle. The Rolled Lead Strip app measures at three preset points, edge, centre and edge, and reports each one plus the difference between them. A single-point reading gives you an average. Three points tell you what the roll gap is doing.
It Sees The Whole Coil, Not A Sample
A micrometer check is one spot on one strip, minutes apart. MG3 runs continuously with the line, and with line speed from your PLC the run chart plots thickness against length instead of time. Every foot of the coil is on the chart, tagged with the coil number, and a coil report is generated when the PLC says the coil is done.
It Closes The Loop With Your Mill
Thickness is published to your PLC over Ethernet/IP at 1 Hz, so the mill control can act on it. On a recent commissioning, the mill builder's own PID routine, running on MG3 data, held the strip inside a ±0.1 thou deadband through steady state and recovered cleanly from the dip every coil changeover puts into the strip.
Roll temperature, wear and strip tension all move thickness through a coil. Continuous measurement sees it start, not at the next spot check.
Shuttle mount that slides clear for threading, air purge for oil mist, and an automatic thickness reference that corrects for thermal drift beside the stands.
The margin you carry to stay above the lower limit is lead given away on every coil. Knowing the real number, edge to edge, removes it.
What Is Your Variation
Actually Costing?
Put in your line speed, strip width, lead price and your own standard deviation. The estimator shows the math it used, so you can check every number rather than take ours on faith.
No sign-up. Runs in your browser.
The Software Is The Difference.
mgOS filters and processes the thickness waveform to extract and record measurements and KPIs, published continuously to a touchscreen HMI at the mill and to your PLC.
Location detail view: mean, max, min and the I-Unit waviness figure for each measurement point, with the surface waveform beneath.
What an operator reads off it
-
Edge, centre, edge
Thickness at three preset locations, named to match your mill, with the overall mean beside them. Toggle between the overall view and the three-location view.
-
Difference, then drift
Max minus min across the strip says whether the roll gap is even. The mean against nominal says whether the whole strip is drifting. Two problems, two different adjustments.
-
Wavy strip, before it jams
An I-Unit waviness figure on every scan, with a PLC alarm when it crosses your threshold. Flat strip reads zero.
-
The coil, by the foot
Length-based run chart with the coil number from your PLC, and a coil report generated on demand when the coil is complete.
Closed-Loop Control
Thickness and a corrected speed target on PLC tags for your mill control, or PID in mgOS with configurable deadband, step and delay. A start-up delay rides out the coil changeover.
Edge-Centre-Edge Profile
Three gauge-and-go locations per scan, each with mean, min, max and standard deviation, plus the difference across the strip.
Wavy Strip Detection
I-Unit calculated on every pass, filtered out of the closed-loop feed when the strip is wavy, and raised as a PLC alarm at your threshold.
Alarms & Alerts
Configurable alerts against your spec and action limits, raised on the HMI, the stacklight or as a PLC signal the instant the strip drifts.
Coil Reports
Every scan logged with product, nominal, coil number and line position. PDF coil reports on a PLC trigger, CSV for offline analysis. Zero manual data entry.
PLC & API Integration
Product switching, line speed, coil number, auto start and stop, and result publishing over Ethernet/IP, with support for Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Omron controllers.
Your Hand Mic. Upgraded.
Everything your operators know about micrometers, in digital form. Inline, continuous, logged automatically, and with zero contact pressure, so nothing marks the strip and nothing depends on how hard someone closes the anvil. Configure every detail to match the checks you already run.
Configurable Anvil Size.
Set the virtual anvil to match the hand mic your QA team already uses. Flat, disk, or point, each one averages over a different footprint. Larger anvils give more stable readings on a textured strip surface, smaller ones give finer point-by-point detail, and every VMic across the strip can carry its own size.
As Many Or As Few As You Need.
Define the number of VMic readings taken across the strip. Match the points your QC procedure already calls for, typically the two edges and the centre, or add more for a fuller profile. Centred, custom-positioned or zone-based, saved per product.
Spacing That Matches Your Strip.
Place VMics evenly across the strip, weight them toward the edges where roll deflection shows first, or cluster them at a known problem zone. Spacing is fully configurable and recalled automatically when the product changes.
Three anvil styles mapped onto virtual micrometer positions on a thickness profile.
MG3-RLS. The Numbers.
Engineered for the rolling line. Class 2 lasers, 30 mm standard sensors with sub-micron resolution, 1 to 5 kHz sampling, and an automatic thickness reference that compensates for thermal expansion.
MG3-RLS running on rolled lead strip.
- 2× laser sensors, 30 mm standard (Class 2)
- Scanning C-frame, belt-driven actuator
- 15″ touchscreen HMI
- Automatic thickness reference (TR)
- NIST-traceable calibration block
- Automatic strip edge detection
- mgOS with the Rolled Lead Strip app
- PLC integration over Ethernet/IP
Ordered separately: MG3-RLS shuttle mount (sliding bracket for maintenance access), closed-loop module, and commissioning (remote or on-site).
- Resolution0.5 µm
- Accuracy (Typical)2 µm
- Thickness Range0 to 8 mm
- Stroke515 mm [20.3 in]
- Measurement Locations3 (Edge, Centre, Edge)
- Scanning Speed150 mm/sec
- Measurement Frequency1 to 5 kHz
- Laser ClassClass 2
- C-Frame Gap65 mm
- Operating Temperature5 to 50 °C
Mounts After The Last Stand.
The gauge sits after the final set of rollers, where the strip is at finished thickness and under tension. A shuttle mount slides it clear for threading and maintenance. A Mate Gauge engineer issues the drawings ahead of your shutdown and commissions the system on site.
MG3-RLS after the rollers, with the HMI at the operator position and the strip running on to the coiler.
-
01
After The Rollers
Positioned after the last set of rollers with minimal line modification. The strip runs through the 65 mm C-frame gap under tension, centred between the sensors, so the reading is the finished thickness heading to the coiler.
-
02
Shuttle MountP/N 10044015
A sliding bracket carries the gauge clear of the strip for threading, roll changes and maintenance, then returns it to the same measuring position without re-alignment.
-
03
PLC & Mill Integration
Connects to your line controls over Ethernet/IP for line speed, coil number, product switching and result publishing. On mills with an adjustable gap or drive, the same connection carries the closed-loop correction.
-
04
Automated Operation
Auto start and stop from line state, automatic thickness reference during the run, and a cleaning alert before oil mist on the glass affects the reading. Once installed it runs with the line.
From Line To Live Data.
Once installed on your rolling line, MG3-RLS runs continuously. The Rolled Lead Strip app in mgOS handles scanning, measurement, processing, display and alerts, with optional closed-loop output back to the mill.
Line Starts, Gauge Starts
Auto start and stop follows the line state from your PLC. A start-up delay rides out the coil changeover before the first reading is published.
Gauge And Go At Three Points
Sensors travel to each preset location, dwell for a microscan, and capture thickness at 1 to 5 kHz. Edge, centre, edge, then back again.
Live Data Processing
mgOS applies peak averaging to match your micrometer and calculates the three-location values, overall mean, difference and I-Unit waviness.
Display & Alerts
Results on the HMI at the mill, plotted against coil length, and published to PLC tags. Out of spec raises an alarm, a stacklight, and a PLC signal.
Mill Correction
Optional closed loop feeds the mill control a corrected target, so the roll gap answers back before the next spot check would have happened.
See It On The Strip.
Easier shown than described. A short walkthrough of the MG3-RLS on rolled lead strip: the three-point measurement, what the operator reads on the HMI while the coil runs, and how the data gets back to the mill.
-
Edge, Centre, Edge
Watch the C-frame step to each location and what the three readings tell you about the roll gap.
-
The Operator View
Mean, difference and the three traces on the run chart, live at the mill, without pulling a sample.
-
Back To The Mill
How thickness reaches the PLC and what closing the loop does to the coil.
Worth Reading.
Featured Article
Fixed sensors, or a gauge that moves?
A fixed pair reads one line down the strip and cannot check itself as the frame heats up. This article covers the five reasons the C-frame scans, and what a fixed head misses on a rolling line.
-
How It Works
Non-Contact Thickness Measurement
Two opposed laser sensors, one gap, one thickness. How triangulation gives you a micron reading without touching the strip.
-
Lead Strip
Cast Lead Strip Field Data
A year of strip data from a working caster, and what closed loop did to the distribution. The same platform, one process upstream.
-
Tool
Savings Estimator, Strip Mode
Your line speed, strip width, lead price and your own standard deviation. Shows its working so you can check every line.
More From Mate Gauge.
MG-CLS · Cast Lead
Cast Lead Strip
Every strip off the drum measured individually, up to seven in one pass, with closed-loop control back to casting speed.
Learn More →MG3 · Pasting
Lead Pasting Line
Both lanes of pasted plates measured without touching the paste, wet side, dry side or stacker, with closed loop to the hopper.
Learn More →MGX · Benchtop
Battery Separators
Benchtop measurement of rib and backweb thickness on lead-acid battery separators.
Learn More →Reduce Waste. Improve Consistency.
Automate Control.
We will spec the right system for your mill, your strip, and your control system. Send us these six things and an engineer will come back with a configuration, not a brochure.
Tell us about your mill
- Strip thickness and target
- Mill make and number of stands
- Strip width
- Line speed
- PLC and whether the roll gap is servo adjustable
- Space after the last stand