Microtrak II Improves Product Quality of Cement Backerboard

Cement backerboard is used as underlayment for tile floors, walls and countertops. It is also used as exterior sheathing and in exterior stucco systems. Cement backerboard has proven to be more durable than virtually any other underlayment if quality control and thickness is maintained. A major cement board manufacturer was faced with the challenge to improve a board production line throughput and decrease the amount of waste in the process. Too thin of cement board material weakens it structurally, while board that is too thick wastes material and resources, as well as drives up production costs. Unacceptable in either case! A consistent method to accurately measure the board thickness without contacting the material was needed. It required a continuous output signal to provide fast, active feedforward control of the process line. The measurement solution needed to provide continuous thickness information under varying line speeds and load conditions and be capable of operating in a harsh production environment.