MEASUREMENT COMPARISON

NUCLEAR

LASER

CONTACT

UAI

Corrects for fixture movement

no

no

no

yes

Measure all material colors

yes

no

yes

yes

Measure optically clear material

yes

no

yes

yes

Measure shiny reflective surfaces

yes

no

yes

yes

Measure non-reflective surfaces

yes

no

yes

yes

Operate reliably in dirty environments

yes

no

no

yes

Measure distance

no

yes

yes

yes

Requires precise standoff

yes

no

yes

no

Measure broad thickness/distance range

no

no

no

yes

Large spot size

no

no

no

yes

Fail safe features

no

no

no

yes

Measure soft materials/surfaces

yes

yes

no

yes

Ignore surface debris

no

no

no

yes

Measure leading and trailing surfaces of panel

yes

yes

no

yes

Affects surface of material measured

no

no

yes

no

Requires heads to retract

no

no

yes

no

Affected by product vibration

no

no

yes

no

Automatically detect if gages are incorrectly operating

no

no

no

yes

Scan in the cross machine direction

yes

yes

no

yes

Requires hazard warnings

yes

yes

no

no

Requires special regulations and permitting to install

yes

no

no

no

Requires expensive disposal

yes

no

no

no

Customer can purchase individual gages and components

no

yes

yes

yes

Measure product thickness and distance

no

yes

yes

yes

Full systems and system components available

yes

no

yes

yes

Requires high contact pressure

no

no

yes

no

Thickness measurement affected by density variation

yes

no

yes

no

Affected by background noise and radiation

yes

yes

no

no

Gage software prompts if gage is misaligned in collision

no

no

no

yes

Requires long sampling time to reduce affect of noise

yes

yes

yes

no