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IMS Systems Now Producing Compact X-Ray Thickness Gauges for Reversing Cold Mills
01/30/2013 - IMS Systems, Inc. has begun manufacturing the XR X-ray Thickness Gauge at its facilities in suburban Pittsburgh. This development marks the first time in the company’s 33-year history that it is producing gauges outside of Germany, where its world headquarters are located.
IMS Systems, Inc. has begun manufacturing the XR X-ray Thickness Gauge at its facilities in suburban Pittsburgh. This development marks the first time in the company’s 33-year history that it is producing gauges outside of Germany, where its world headquarters are located. IMS is using mostly American-made components and domestic skilled labor to construct measuring systems for helping cold mills improve the accuracy of their thickness measurements. The $3.5 million, 9,500 square-foot production facility is located next to the company’s North American Headquarters Building. By making gauges in the United States, IMS is providing cost-effective solutions to customers by eliminating exchange rate differences between the Euro and U.S. Dollar, reducing transportation costs and achieving quicker turnaround times.
“This investment demonstrates our commitment to helping North American steelmakers meet increasingly stringent quality requirements,” says John Buckman, general manager and vice president of operations. “The superior engineering talent and skilled labor in Western Pennsylvania, along with a growing need for cold mills to undertake capital projects well-suited to our measuring systems, persuaded us to establish U.S. manufacturing operations.”
XR Gauges offer many valuable features and benefits, including 99.9% accuracy of thickness measurements; modular design; easy retrofitting to existing lines; affordability; lower statistical noise than isotope gauges; robust ionization chamber design; no standards magazines; and maintenance-free, greaseless, high-voltage cable design.
“The XR Gauge’s ability to communicate seamlessly with other gauges installed on the production line, as well as the high quality of detectors, measuring amplifiers, x-ray generators and tubes the gauge contains, make it particularly beneficial to cold mills,” says Mr. Buckman.
Key performance data include an air gap of 12” (300mm) or 24” (600mm); throat depth of 48” (1200mm), 63” (1600mm) or 87” (2200mm); and measuring ranges for steel, stainless, aluminum and copper from .004” (0.1mm) to .394” (10.0mm).
IMS is a leading manufacturer of x-ray, isotope and optical measuring systems that gauge the thickness, flatness, length, width, coating weight, cross-profile and speed of cold ferrous and non-ferrous strip and plate, as well as perform 3-D inspections of flat products. The company is headquartered in Heiligenhaus, Germany, near Düsseldorf. Its North American headquarters are in Mars, Pa., near Pittsburgh, and the company’s Southeastern service center is located near Mobile, Ala..
