Conductive Slurry and Paste Testing Solutions for Process Control
Higher process and material quality through fast and precise Inline Measurement
based on non-contact eddy current technology.
- Quality assurance
- Process control
- Yield improvement
- Customer trust by documented spool / roll report
Introduction
The EddyCus® Inline RS series is an annular sensor engineered for non-contact, continuous inline testing of any conductive material passing through a tube. The sensor features a standard opening diameter of 20 mm, with custom sizes up to 100 mm available on request. This solution supports advanced process control, yield optimization, and reliable inspection of incoming and outgoing goods.
The device is typically used for:
- Conductive pastes, slurries and fluids
Sensor Capabilities
Supported Substrates
Wafer, Glass, etc. with 150 / 200 / 300 mm diameter
Optional Temperature Sensor
Features and Benefits
Up to 200 Sensors
Single-lane and Multi-lane Solutions
High Production Speed up to 10 m/s
Feed Data Directly to a PLC
Contact Free and Real Time
Accurate Measurement
Slurrys, Pastes and Inks
- Composition is defined by recipe (e.g. active material, carbon black, binder, graphite)
- Structure of components depends on mixing processes (dry, wet)
- Particle size, volume fraction, viscosity, morphology
- Slurry characteristics affect on downstream processes
- Coating (thickness, layer density)
- Spatial distribution of active material in through-plane direction
- Drying behavior (diffusion paths, porosity)
- Calendering behavior
- Post-Calendering drying
- Filling with Electrolyte
- Coating (thickness, layer density)
- Mixing quality affects on battery performance
- Energy density
- Defects (particle breakage)
Slurrys and Pastes Measurement Tasks
- Permittivity
- Conductivity
- Homogeneity
- Moisture
- Areal capacity
- Areal weight
- Viscosity
- Sheet resistance
Inline Setup
- Sensor integration into slurry production/ mixing lines
- Integration of 1 or more sensors at different stages of slurry flow
- Measurement of conductivity of slurry, solvent composition, particle size, mixing quality
- Maximum pipe size is 20 mm (up to 100 mm on request)
- Real time high-speed measurement
Software
- Several views and user level
- Live view with upper and lower limits and alarm functions
- Analysis view providing statistics
- Can handle data of several thousands measurements per second
- Data storage into SQL database
- Customizable automated data export (csv, txt, xls,…)
- Several smart functions (automated DB cleaning, self-reference etc.)
- Parameterizable I/O modules (triggering of actions or alarms)
Measurement Speed
- 0.1 Hz to 50 kHz suitable for up to 50 m/s movements
Geometry
- Tubes with diameter 0.01 to 10 mm (other on request)
Applications
Liquid Characterization & Classification
- Fluid identification – Distinguishing between different liquids in pipelines, storage tanks, and processing equipment
- Viscous liquid sorting – Characterizing oils, syrups, liquid polymers by dielectric signature
- Emulsion and suspension analysis – Identifying particle-in-liquid systems, determining phase ratios
- Contamination detection – Water in oil, solvent contamination, foreign liquid detection
- Blend verification – Confirming proper mixing ratios in multi-component liquid formulations
Flow Process Monitoring & Control
- Real-time mixing monitoring – Tracking homogenization progress in stirred tanks and inline mixers
- Dilution control – Automated adjustment of concentration in continuous dilution processes
- Phase separation detection – Monitoring oil-water separation, cream separation, settling processes
- Reaction progress tracking – Following chemical reactions through dielectric property changes
- Crystallization monitoring – Detecting nucleation and crystal growth in flowing solutions
Paste & Viscous Material Applications
- Paste consistency control – Monitoring toothpaste, adhesives, food pastes during production
- Slurry concentration measurement – Ceramic slurries, mining slurries, wastewater sludge
- Gel formation monitoring – Hydrogel production, food gels, pharmaceutical gels
- Coating material quality – Paint consistency, ink formulations, protective coatings
- Cement and mortar monitoring – Fresh concrete workability, grout flow properties
Pipeline & Flow System Monitoring
- Multiphase flow analysis – Oil-water-gas ratios in petroleum pipelines
- Batch boundary detection – Identifying different products in multi-product pipelines
- Flow regime identification – Detecting slug flow, bubble flow, stratified flow patterns
- Leak detection – Monitoring for product loss or contamination in pipeline systems
- Cleaning verification – Confirming complete removal of previous products during cleaning cycles
Food & Beverage Flowing Products
- Liquid food quality – Milk fat content, fruit juice concentration, beverage consistency
- Sauce and condiment monitoring – Ketchup, mayonnaise, salad dressing uniformity
- Dairy processing – Cream separation efficiency, cheese whey processing
- Brewing and fermentation – Beer clarity, wine processing, fermentation progress
- Cooking oil management – Degradation monitoring in commercial fryers
Chemical & Pharmaceutical Liquids
- Drug solution concentration – Active ingredient levels in liquid pharmaceuticals
- Solvent purity monitoring – Water content in organic solvents, solvent recycling
- Chemical feed streams – Reactant concentration in continuous chemical processes
- Cleaning solution effectiveness – Detergent concentration, sanitizer strength
- Waste stream characterization – Liquid waste composition for treatment optimization
Industrial Fluid Applications
- Hydraulic fluid condition – Water contamination, additive depletion monitoring
- Coolant management – Metalworking fluid concentration, contamination detection
- Lubricant analysis – Oil degradation, water ingress in lubricating systems
- Heat transfer fluid monitoring – Thermal fluid condition in industrial heating systems
- Fuel quality assessment – Biofuel blending, fuel contamination detection
Advanced Flow Applications
- Microfluidics monitoring – Lab-on-chip applications, microscale mixing analysis
- Spray characterization – Droplet size distribution effects on dielectric properties
- Foam quality control – Air content in liquid foams, foam stability
- Biofluid analysis – Blood composition, cell culture media monitoring
- Environmental flow monitoring – River water quality, groundwater contamination tracking
Process-Specific Flowing Material
- Continuous coating processes – Paint flow properties, coating thickness prediction
- Injection molding – Polymer melt properties, flow behavior characterization
- Extrusion monitoring – Paste extrusion uniformity, flow rate optimization
- Pumping efficiency – Optimizing pump performance based on fluid properties
- Storage tank management – Stratification detection, mixing requirements assessment
Data Table for EddyCus® inline RS
System Features
| Test material geometry |
Width: 1 – 20 mm Height: 5 mm Other on request (inner diameter < 100 mm) |
| Sensor size | Various sensor sizes are available |
| Sensor type | Open / closed loop |
| Sampling rate | 1 – 10.000 measurements per second |
| Mode | Non-contact |
| Method | Inductive |
| Add-ons |
Scaleable to multiple lines Optical camera for combined testing |
| Device dimensions (w/h/d) |
Standard 80 x 60 x 70 mm Other sensor diameters and sizes are available |
Measurement Capabilities
| Sheet Resistance Measurement | |
|---|---|
| Measurement types |
Line resistance (Ohm/m), sheet resistance (Ohm/sq) Resistivity / Conductivity Shielding quality / electrical impedance Coating uniformity (electric and magnetic) |
| Line resistance range | 0.5 mOhm/m – 500 Ohm/m |
| Sheet resistance range | 0.001 – 250 Ohm/sq | Metal Layer Thickness Measurement |
| Measurement types |
Metal thickness of coatings (nm, µm) Wire thickness (µm, mm) Shielding quality, coating uniformity |
| Metal thickness range | 0.005 – 5,000 µm | High Frequency Measurement |
| Sheet resistance range | 0.01 – 1,000 Ohm/sq; 1 – 5 % accuracy |
| Anisotropy range (TD/MD) | 0.33 – 3 (larger upon request) |
| Materials |
Nanowires Nanotubes / Nanobuds Regular metal meshes Materials with egg shaped domains Stacked multilayer systems with advance current transport functions |
| Measurement Results |
Absolute / relative anisotropy Dominant current transport directions Sheet resistance in machine direction Sheet resistance in traversing directions (cross-web) |
Wet Coating and Residual Moisture Measurement |
| Measurement types |
Wet coating thickness Residual moisture Composition monitoring (electric, dielectric, magnetic) |
| Wet coating thickness range | 10 – 5,000 µm |
| Residual moisture range | 5 – 1,000 % |
Frequently Asked Questions
Sheet resistance, metal layer thickness, resistivity, wet coating thickness, residual moisture, composition monitoring (electric, dielectric, magnetic)