493K K-METRON User manual

K-METRON (FW 2.3.4)
493K THICKNESS MEASUREMENT GAUGE
WITH RADIO LINK UP AND SOFTWARE RECORDING
USER INSTRUCTIONS (Doc v3.0.0)
RELATING TO FIRMWARE VERSION (FW 2.3.4)
(as displayed on boot-up of the K-METRON)
IMPORTANT
Read all instructions before use
Observe safety precautions
493K Limited
23 Watch Hill Road
Ballyclare, BT39 9QW
United Kingdom
T: [phone]
E: [email protected]

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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1OPERATING THE K-METRON...............................................................................................3
1.1 Turning the unit ON & OFF..........................................................................................3
1.2 Coupling the Sensor Head with the Calibrated Magnet. ............................................3
1.3 Loss of Magnetic Coupling. .........................................................................................4
1.4 Tracking the Sensor Head to the Point of Measurement. ..........................................4
1.5 Ensure Correct Sensor Head Orientation....................................................................4
1.6 Measuring an External Radius with K-METRON..........................................................5
1.7 Measuring an Internal Radius with K-METRON. .........................................................5
1.8 The Sensor Head Dimensions......................................................................................6
1.9 Measuring the Thickness.............................................................................................6
1.10 Deleting a Thickness Measurement. .......................................................................6
1.11 Indexing Mould ID. ..................................................................................................6
1.12 Out of Measurable Range Thicknesses....................................................................7
1.13 Choosing which Magnet Type to use. .....................................................................7
1.14 Units of Measurement.............................................................................................7
2THE K-METRON SOFTWARE................................................................................................8
2.1 Connecting the K-METRON to the PC & Installing the Communications Driver.........8
2.2 Downloading the K-METRON Software. .....................................................................8
2.3 Setting the Correct Communications Port..................................................................8
2.4 Recording the Thickness measurements. ...................................................................9
3SAVING THE DATA ............................................................................................................10
3.1 Continuous Internal Database Recording .................................................................10
3.2 Exporting to Excel......................................................................................................10
3.3 Erasing Unwanted Data.............................................................................................11
4POWERING THE K-METRON .............................................................................................12
4.1 Battery Type ..............................................................................................................12
4.2 Replacing the Battery in K-METRON.........................................................................12
4.3 Battery Life ................................................................................................................12
5CALIBRATING THE K-METRON ..........................................................................................13
5.1 Entering Calibration Mode........................................................................................13
5.2 Calibrating the K-METRON........................................................................................13

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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5.3 Validating Calibration................................................................................................14
6THE SENSOR HEAD............................................................................................................14
7MEASURING DIFFERENT MATERIALS................................................................................14
7.1 Materials that can be measured...............................................................................15
7.2 Measuring Non-ferrous Metal Parts. ........................................................................15
7.3 Materials that Cannot be Measured.........................................................................15
8WHAT’S INCLUDED ...........................................................................................................15
9TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.............................................................................................16
10 DISCLAIMER...................................................................................................................16
11 DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY...................................................................................17

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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1OPERATING THE K-METRON
1.1 Turning the unit ON & OFF
To turn the unit ON momentarily press the ON/OFF switch on the face of the K-METRON
until the left-hand POWER LED illuminates. Battery level will be checked each time the unit
is turned on, and if a low battery voltage is detected then a warning will be displayed on
start up.
To turn the unit OFF press the ON/OFF switch on the face of the K-METRON unit the POWER
LED goes off.
The unit will auto power off after 3 minutes of inactivity. A warning “PWR OFF” is displayed
after 1 minute of inactivity. The unit can be interrupted from auto power off by pressing
either the orange trigger or the DELETE button; pressing either will only interrupt the auto
power off and will neither ‘transmit’ or ‘delete’ any data.
1.2 Entering the Configuration Menu
To enter the configuration menu, with the K-METRON turned off, hold down the DELETE
button and switch the unit on. While continuing to hold down the DELETE button, the
display will read “Wait … Setup mode”. Once the display reads “M1: Cal Object” release the
DELETE button. The unit is now in the Configuration Menu. To scroll through each menu use
the DELETE button; to select use the Orange Trigger Button.
1.3 Coupling the Sensor Head with the Calibrated Magnet.
Place the Sensor Head on one face of the product that is to be measured. Hold or place the
magnet on the opposite side of the product wall until it couples to the sensor head.
Visual Display
Delete Last
Transmitted
Data
Power LED
ON/OFF
Switch
Sensor Head
Sensor Head Dock

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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Hollow objects can be measured by inserting the calibrated magnet through a small opening
in the product. The magnet should immediately be coupled with the sensor head positioned
on the outside of the product and adjacent to the aperture. The sensor head can then be
slid over the surface of the product to the desired place of measurement. Movement should
be slow and steady. Care should be taken when moving the sensor head to avoid de-
coupling.
1.4 Loss of Magnetic Coupling.
When magnetic couple of the cube magnet is lost it can be retrieved by retaining the end of
the attached cord and fishing the magnet out of the opening. If the spherical magnet loses
coupling then it must be retrieved by turning the moulding upside down and allowing the
magnet to fall out or by using a telescopic metal pointer to grab it.
1.5 Tracking the Sensor Head to the Point of Measurement.
The calibrated magnet will automatically couple, orientate and centre itself over the Sensor
Head. Once coupled track the Sensor Head to the point on the part which you wish to
measure, taking care not to remove the sensor head from the face of the work piece. This
may result in the loss of the magnetic coupling. The calibrated magnet will follow the Sensor
Head to the desired point of measurement.
1.6 Ensure Correct Sensor Head Orientation
When measuring flat parts ensure that the sensor head is perpendicular to the surface.
When measuring external radii it is important to ensure that the sensor head is
perpendicular to the surface of the part being measured.
Incorrect Sensor Head Orientation: a non-perpendicular orientation will result in an
erroneous measurement.
Thickness displayed on the
meter will be the thickness
of the measured part.
Thickness displayed on
the meter will be the
thickness of the
measured part.
Thickness displayed on the meter will
be the thickness of the measured
part plus the gap between the sensor
head and the part.

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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An internal radii will return a value for which compensation must be made.
1.7 Measuring an External Radius with K-METRON.
It is straight forward to measure external radii down to 5mm. Place the sensor head on the
surface of the part located at external radius to be measured. Ensure that the sensor head is
perpendicular to the tangent of the radius to make an accurate reading.
1.8 Measuring an Internal Radius with K-METRON.
It is straight forward to measure external radius down to 5mm. At radii less than this the
main difficulty is with access to the surface. When measuring thickness of internal radii, the
correct measurement often requires compensation for the gap distance as shown below.
A minimum external radius of 5mm
(3/16”) can be measured using the
supplied 10mm diameter magnetic
sphere.
A minimum external radius of 3.3mm
(0.1229”) can be measured using a 6.6mm
diameter magnetic sphere (contact for
supply).
minimum external
radius
gap
A minimum internal radius of
25mm (1”) can be measured before
it becomes impractical and difficult
to compensate for gap distances.
Radii less than 25mm also tend to
allow the magnetic force to pull
the magnet to the side of the part.
minimum external
radius
gap
Thickness displayed on the meter
will be the thickness of the
measured part plus the gap
between the sensor head and the
part.

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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1.9 The Sensor Head Dimensions.
The sensor head is a cylinder of size 27mm diameter x 55mm length.
1.10 Measuring the Thickness.
When the sensor head is at the desired measuring point pull and hold the orange trigger
and make small figure of eight movements of the Sensor Head to ensure that Transducer
Magnet is centrally located on the Sensor Head. Centring of the calibrated magnet will easily
occur on materials up to 20mm (0.78”) thick but will also depend on the surface finish of the
material being measured.
On releasing the trigger the unit will display and transmit the minimum value measured to
the receiver.The data that are sent to the PC are the Date, Time, Mould Identification
Number, the Mould Position Number and the Thickness Reading.
If the receiver is not connected to the PC, a ‘TX Error’ will be displayed after holding down
and releasing the trigger. The unit is still operational and can be used to display on-screen
readings without the receiver being connected to the PC, however users should be aware
that a 'TX Error' indicates that the reading is not saved on the PC.
1.11 Deleting a Thickness Measurement.
If an erroneous thickness measurement has been made and transmitted to the PC then it
can be remotely deleted from the PC. To do this press the delete button; the display signals
confirmation. The Position Number on the PC will then be reduced by ‘1’.
1.12 Indexing Mould ID.
After the thickness measurements on a particular mould are completed the user has the
option to increment the Mould Identification number. This number is used as a guide to
indicate which moulds are being measured and recorded.
To increment the Mould Index number complete the following two steps:
Step 1. Move the magnet away from the sensor head so that O/R (‘out of range’) is
displayed on-screen;
Step 2: Hold the trigger down for 7 seconds.

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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The on-screen indication will now show that the Mould Index number has been
incremented.
1.13 Out of Measurable Range Thicknesses
During the calibration of a spherical or cube magnet the unit will determine at which
maximum thickness the sensor magnets become out of range and then will display O/R for
‘out of range’ when appropriate. The O/R limit is reached whenever the effect of the
magnet on the sensor head is too small to provide a useful measurement also seen when no
magnet is present, such as would happen when the magnet becomes de-coupled. For a
limit where the thickness decreases to zero and the measurement is out of range, “LOW”
will be displayed.
1.14 Choosing which Magnet Type to use.
The unit comes with two different types of magnet, a cube and a sphere. The desired range
of measurement will be the major factor which determined whether to use the cube or
spherical magnet. The 10mm x 10mm x 10mm cube magnet is best for thick walled parts.
The 10mm spherical magnet is best for thinner parts when tight radii are to be measured.
The measurement specifications for each of the magnets are shown in the Table below.
MEASUREMENT SPECIFICATIONS FOR CUBE AND SPHERICAL MAGNETS
METRIC
Part thickness
Accuracy
10mm cube
magnet
4mm –20mm
4mm-17mm: +/- 0.2mm of reading
17mm +: +/- 1.0mm of reading
Factory
Set
10mm sphere
magnet
2mm-20mm
2mm-13mm: +/- 0.2mm of reading
13mm: +/- 1.0mm of reading
IMPERIAL
Part thickness
Accuracy
0.39” cube
magnet
0.157” – 0.787”
0.157” -0.669”: +/- 0.008” of reading
0.669”: +/- 0.039” of reading
Factory
Set
0.39” sphere
magnet
0.079” – 0.787”
0.079-0.512”: +/- 0.008” of reading
0.512”: +/- 0.039” of reading
1.15 Units of Measurement
The measurement can be made in IMPERIAL or METRIC units. To do this hold down the
DELETE button while the K-METRON is off and continue to hold it while switching the unit
on. While continuing to hold down the DELETE button, after a short delay (with Wait …
Setup mode being displayed) the K-METRON will enter the “Configuration menu” and
display “M1: Cal Object”. Release the DELETE button at this point. Pressing the DELETE
button will scroll through the menu. Pressing the DELETE button twice will display “M3:
Units”. To Select or Enter a menu the Orange Trigger button is pulled. Use the DELETE
button to scroll through METRIC/IMPERIAL/EXIT and select the desired Units by pulling the
Orange Trigger Button. The unit will now exit the configuration menu and return to
operational status.

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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2THE K-METRON SOFTWARE
2.1 Connecting the K-METRON to the PC & Installing the
Communications Driver.
Connect the K-METRON receiver unit to the PC using the attached USB flying lead. Allow
Windows to automatically connect to the internet for the latest communication driver. It
will do this automatically upon plugging in the USB flying lead.
2.2 Downloading the K-METRON Software.
Download and install the K-METRON software from the link supplied by 493K. If you do not
have this link it can be found at www.493k.com under the Software heading.
2.3 Setting the Correct Communications Port.
Ensure that the K-METRON software is set to look at the correct communications port that
has been assigned by Windows for the receiver hardward (when the radio receiver was
connected and the driver installed, Windows will have auto-assigned this number).
To determine the communication port number that Windows has assigned go to:
•Windows Control Panel
•Device Manager
•Under Ports (COM & LPT) the USB Serial Port will show the COM number that has
been allocated by Windows e.g.
(in this case Windows has assigned the COM number 18)

K-METRON Radio User Instructions (Firmware 2.3.4; Doc v3.0.0)
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To assign the COM number withing the K-METRON software:
•Run K-METRON Software
•Go to options and assign the correct COM Port.
2.4 Recording the Thickness measurements.
Hit the start button to begin receiving and recording data transmitted from the handheld K-
METRON. Received data will be presented on a line per line basis and will record Date, Time,
Mould ID, Position number and Reading.