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MEMiMETRIA
Measuring Material Thickness by interferometry
INESC TEC promotes a Research and Technological Development (R+D+T) project to create a new optical measuring system with practical application in quality control at industrial plastics production factories.
In the search for solutions to optimise production processes and
quality, INESC TEC integrated a millionaire consortium (budgeted at
around 120 000 euros) with the company EnerMeter, Sistemas de Medição
Lda, with the Faculty of Science, University of Porto (FCUP) and the
University of Minho, to develop an optical system to measure the
thickness of multi-layer embedded materials, without contact and with
high spatial precision, particularly relevant for quality control of
materials derived from the plastics industry.
On the basis of
this project are technologies already developed and tested successfully
in projects by INESC TEC and FCUP in the sensors and high spatial
resolution optical imaging areas, and they have, in this context, a high
application potential.
The product developed as part of the
project is particularly relevance to the industry producing thermoplastic
preforms, which are the basis of polyethylene containers and related
materials (for instance, plastic bottles), so commonly used. The
containers produced with these specific these materials are developed
using multi-functional layers in order to preserve certain qualities of
the liquid stored inside.
The prototype developed within the
project MEMiMETRIA aims at monitoring, in real time, the thickness of
multi-layers in the final stage of producing the preforms, in an
industrial environment, thereby making it possible to optimise and control the production parameters in industrial processes.
From the point
of view of developers, this system provides a value added service,
occupying its own space in a growing market, in addition to transferring
technologies to the market and strengthening an R&D team in
microscopic optical metrology, one of INESC TEC’s areas of expertise.
Project Leader: EnerMeter, Sistemas de Medição Lda
Partners:
- INESC TEC
- Faculty of Science, University of Porto
- University of Minho
Contact: