DAKOTA ULTRASONICS PVX User manual

OPERATION MANUAL
DAKOTA ULTRASONICS
P
PV VX X v
v2 2. .0 0
Precision A / B Scan Thickness Gauge
P/N P-157-0005 Rev 3.0, Sept 2019

CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1
1.1 DISCLAIMER ......................................................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER TWO QUICK STARTUP GUIDE ....................................................... 2
2.1 PVX OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................... 2
2.2 TABBED & HOT MENU REFERENCE ....................................................................................... 5
2.3 SELECTING THE TRANSDUCER TYPE ..................................................................................... 7
2.4 PROBE ZERO & CALIBRATION ............................................................................................... 8
2.5 MEASURE .......................................................................................................................... 11
CHAPTER THREE KEYBOARD, MENU, & CONNECTOR REFERENCE ...... 16
3.1 MENU KEY (OPERATION & SUB MENUS) .............................................................................. 16
3.2 PROBE – MENU………. ...................................................................................................... 17
3.3 CAL – MENU…. ................................................................................................................. 18
3.4 DISP (DISPLAY) – MENU…. ................................................................................................ 18
3.5 TUNE – MENU… ............................................................................................................... 20
3.6 GT1 – MENU… .................................................................................................................. 21
3.7 GT2 – MENU… .................................................................................................................. 21
3.8 GT3 – MENU… .................................................................................................................. 22
3.9 SETUP – MENU…. ............................................................................................................ 22
3.10 DATA – MENU…. ............................................................................................................ 22
3.11 UTIL (UTILITIES) – MENU… .............................................................................................. 23
3.12 XFER (TRANSFER) – MENU… .......................................................................................... 24
3.13 CLR (CLEAR) KEY…. ........................................................................................................ 24
3.14 MEAS (MEASUREMENT MODE) KEY… ............................................................................... 24
3.15 OK KEY…. ....................................................................................................................... 25
3.16 ESC KEY…. .................................................................................................................... 25
3.17 ARROW KEYS…. .............................................................................................................. 25
3.18 ENTER KEY…. ................................................................................................................ 25
3.19 MULTI MODE KEY…. ..................................................................................................... 25
3.20 ON/OFF KEY…. .............................................................................................................. 25
3.21 TOP & BOTTOM END CAPS ............................................................................................... 27
CHAPTER FOUR PRINCIPALS OF ULTRASONIC MEASUREMENT ........... 28
4.1 TIME VERSUS THICKNESS RELATIONSHIP ............................................................................. 28
4.2 SUITABILITY OF MATERIALS ................................................................................................. 28
4.3 RANGE OF MEASUREMENT AND ACCURACY .......................................................................... 28

4.4 COUPLANT ......................................................................................................................... 28
4.5 TEMPERATURE ................................................................................................................... 28
4.6 MEASUREMENT MODES ...................................................................................................... 29
CHAPTER FIVE MAKING MEASUREMENTS ................................................ 33
5.1 SELECTING TRANSDUCER TYPE .......................................................................................... 33
5.2 PROBE ZERO ..................................................................................................................... 35
5.3 MATERIAL CALIBRATION ..................................................................................................... 37
CHAPTER SIX DISPLAY VIEW OPTIONS ...................................................... 45
6.1 DISPLAY VIEWS .................................................................................................................. 45
6.2 CHANGING DISPLAY OPTIONS ............................................................................................. 53
CHAPTER SEVEN ADJUSTING THE SCOPE ................................................ 54
7.1 DELAY & RANGE (B-START/B-DEPTH) ................................................................................ 54
7.2 GAIN – MANUAL & AUTO (AGC) ......................................................................................... 58
7.3 THRESHOLD ....................................................................................................................... 61
7.4 UNDERSTANDING THE FEATURES OF THE GATE ................................................................... 64
7.5 GATES ............................................................................................................................... 66
CHAPTER EIGHT THRU PAINT MEASUREMENT TECHNIQUE................... 71
8.1 INTRODUCTION TO THRU PAINT MEASUREMENT .................................................................. 71
8.2 USING THRU PAINT MODE .................................................................................................. 71
CHAPTER NINE ADDITIONAL FEATURES OF THE PVX ............................. 74
9.1 UNITS ................................................................................................................................ 74
9.2 BACKLIGHT ........................................................................................................................ 75
9.3 BRIGHTNESS (COLOR VERSION ONLY) ................................................................................. 75
9.4 CONTRAST......................................................................................................................... 76
9.5 COLORS (COLOR VERSION ONLY) ........................................................................................ 77
9.6 LANDSCAPE (COLOR VERSION ONLY) .................................................................................. 78
9.7 DIM (COLOR VERSION ONLY) .............................................................................................. 79
9.8 RECTIFIED WAVE OPTIONS................................................................................................. 80
9.9 DETECT MARK ................................................................................................................... 81
9.10 GRATICULE (COLOR VERSION ONLY) ................................................................................. 82
9.11 POLARITY ........................................................................................................................ 84
9.12 PULSE WIDTH .................................................................................................................. 85
9.13 PULSER VOLTAGE ............................................................................................................ 86
9.14 DAMPING ......................................................................................................................... 87
9.15 AGC MAX ....................................................................................................................... 88
9.16 GAIN SLOPE (TDG) .......................................................................................................... 89

9.17 TDG START ..................................................................................................................... 91
9.18 AUTO FIND ....................................................................................................................... 92
9.19 HIGH SPEED SCAN ........................................................................................................... 93
9.20 ALARM MODE ................................................................................................................... 94
9.21 DIFFERENTIAL MODE ........................................................................................................ 96
9.22 KEY CLICK ....................................................................................................................... 97
9.23 SET DATE & TIME ............................................................................................................. 98
9.24 SHOW DATE & TIME ....................................................................................................... 100
9.25 CAPTURE TO FILE ........................................................................................................... 100
9.26 CAPTURE VIEWER .......................................................................................................... 101
CHAPTER TEN DATA STORAGE – SETUP, EDIT, & VIEW FILES ............. 104
10.1 INTRODUCTION TO GRID AND SEQUENTIAL FILE FORMATS ................................................ 104
10.2 CREATING A NEW GRID OR SEQUENTIAL LOG (FILE) ........................................................ 105
10.3 STORING A READING ....................................................................................................... 114
10.4 VIEWING STORED READINGS ........................................................................................... 116
10.5 DELETING GRIDS (FILES) ................................................................................................ 117
10.6 EDITING A GRID (FILE) .................................................................................................... 120
10.7 CHANGING THE ACTIVE FILE - OPEN ................................................................................ 122
10.8 CLOSING AN ACTIVE FILE - CLOSE ................................................................................... 124
CHAPTER ELEVEN SETUPS – CREATE, STORE, EDIT, & RECALL ......... 126
11.1 INTRODUCTION TO SETUPS ............................................................................................. 126
11.2 OPENING A SETUP .......................................................................................................... 126
11.3 SAVING & EDITING A SETUP ............................................................................................ 127
11.4 DELETING A SAVED SETUP ............................................................................................. 130
11.5 USING THE DEFAULT SETUP ........................................................................................... 132
11.6 SELECTING A LANGUAGE ................................................................................................ 133
CHAPTER TWELVE USING THE UTILITY SOFTWARE .............................. 135
12.1 COMPUTER SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS .............................................................................. 135
12.2 INSTALLING DAKVIEW ..................................................................................................... 135
12.3 COMMUNICATING WITH THE PVX .................................................................................... 135
12.4 LINE POWER .................................................................................................................. 135
12.5 UPGRADING THE PVX .................................................................................................... 135
APPENDIX A - VELOCITY TABLE ................................................................ 137
APPENDIX B - SETUP LIBRARY .................................................................. 139

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The Dakota Ultrasonics model PVX is a visual precision A / B scan ultrasonic
thickness gauge. Based on the same operating principles as SONAR, the PVX is
capable of measuring the thickness of various materials with accuracy as high as 
0.0001 inches, or  0.001 millimeters. The principle advantage of ultrasonic
measurement over traditional methods is that ultrasonic measurements can be
performed with access to only one side of the material being measured.
Dakota Ultrasonics maintains a customer support resource in order to assist users
with questions or difficulties not covered in this manual. Customer support may be
reached at any of the following:
Dakota Ultrasonics Corporation
1500 Green Hills Road, #107
Scotts Valley, CA 95066 USA
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: [phone]
www.dakotaultrasonics.com
1.1 Disclaimer
The PVX is a full-featured scope that allows a great deal of control over the
functionality and electronic performance of the instrument. However, as this provides
the user greater control and versatility for a variety of applications, it also requires
that the user be comfortable with operation and waveform interpretation of the
instrument. It is strongly recommended that the contents of this manual be read in its
entirety. It is also recommended that a sufficient amount of time be allocated to
working with the instrument in a test environment prior to use in the field.
Responsibility for proper use of the instrument rest solely with the user of the
instrument.

2
CHAPTER TWO
QUICK STARTUP GUIDE
Turn the PVX on and off using the switch located on the bottom right corner of the
keypad. When PVX is initially turned on, a flash logo and blinking lights will be
displayed prior to entering into the main measurement screen. Note: This section is
primarily written as a basic startup guide only.
2.1 PVX Overview

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In order to understand how to operate the PVX, it’s best to start off with an
understanding of what it is we’re looking at exactly. The PVX has a lot of great
features and tools that will prove to be a huge benefit for the variety of applications
you’re constantly facing on a continual basis. Let’s have a brief look at the screens
you’ll see most often:
A. Repeatability/Stability Indicator – This indicator should be commonly used
in conjunction with the digital thickness values displayed. When all the vertical
bars are fully illuminated and the last digit on the digital thickness value is
stable, the PVX is reliably measuring the same value approximately 250 times
per second (250 Hz), depending on which measurement mode and features
are enabled.
B. Battery Icon – Indicates the amount of battery life the PVX has remaining.
C. Velocity – The material velocity value the PVX is currently using or calibrated
for. Displayed in both English or Metric units, depending on the what units the
gauge is set for.
D. Feature Status Bar – Indicates the features currently enabled and in use in
the following order:
 Measurement Mode
 Differential Mode
 High Speed Scan Mode
 Alarm Mode
 Gain Setting
E. Digital Material Thickness Value – Extra large font size for viewing ease.
F. Scan Bar – Another view of material thickness in a deflection style horizontal
bar. This is a visual tool that would enable the user the ability to see thickness
changes in both standard and scan modes.
G. Units – The current measurement units being used (English, Metric).
H. Digital Material Thickness Value – Smaller font size when the B-Scan
display view is enabled.
I. Minimum Material Thickness – Part of the scan feature. Displays the
minimum thickness value found during a scan.
J. Maximum Material Thickness – Part of the scan feature. Displays the
maximum thickness value found during a scan.
K. B-Scan Display – Cross section view of the material. Provides the user with
graphical view of the opposite/blind surface.
L. RF A-Scan Display – The actual sound wave reflection that is returned from
the detection of the opposite surface of the material being measured. In this
view, the entire sine wave is displayed, showing both the positive and negative
half cycles from the detection/reflection. This view is commonly used to
initially “see the big picture” and make fine adjustments to the scope settings,
prior to selecting another view option.

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M. Hot Menu items – We call this menu section our “hot menu”, as these items
are the most commonly adjusted features, requiring quick access from the
user. They can be displayed and scrolled by pressing the key at anytime.
The key is used in conjunction with key to reverse the direction
scrolled.
N. Reference Note – When the “hot menu” items are displayed/activated, the
base material thickness value shown at reference point “N”. However, when
the “hot menu” items have been deactivated, the current base material velocity
value is displayed, as shown in reference point “O”. When the “hot menus”
are deactivated, the entire “hot menu” section becomes a multiple
measurement display area, allowing the user to simultaneously view: base
material, coating, and base material minimum/maximum thickness values
dynamically, as shown in reference point “R”.
O. Reference Note – Please refer to “N”, for a detailed explanation.
P. RECT A-Scan Display – The actual sound wave reflection that is returned
from the detection of the opposite surface of the material being measured. In
this view, only half of the sine wave is being displayed (positive or negative).
Q. Reference Note – Please refer to “N”, for a detailed explanation.

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2.2 Tabbed & Hot Menu Reference
The following table is a quick menu reference guide of the tabbed menu items, which
can be accessed by pressing the key multiple times to tab right, or the key
multiple times to tab left through the tabbed menus. The PVX has 11 tabbed menu
titles and multiple submenu items as illustrated below. The PVX also has 1 ‘hot
menu’ subset of commonly adjusted menu items. They can be quickly accessed
from the main measurement screen by pressing the key multiple times to access
and tab right, or pressing the key multiple times to tab left through the hot menu
cells. Refer to Chapter Three for additional definitions and information on the keypad
and menu items.
Hot Menu Items
Note: Only one “Threshold, Width and Holdoff“ will be listed in the Hot Menus at a time. Log” is also
listed, and is used to access data storage if no log file is currently open, or display log or grid file if
open. Finally, either “Gain” or “AGC” will be displayed, depending on the current measurement mode
selected.
* Color option only
Start >>
CAL MATL DISP TUNE GT1 GT2 GT3 SETUP
ZERO
PROBE
MAT VIEW MEASURE
MODE
START WIDTH 2 HOLD 3 OPEN
TYPE MATL 1PT DELAY
(B-START)
POLARITY HOLDOFF 1 HOLD 2 THRESHOLD
3
SAVE
MATL 2PT RANGE
(B-DEPTH)
PULSE WIDTH 1 THRESHOLD
2
DELETE
VELOCITY (B-SCAN
SPEED)
PULSER
VOLTAGE
THRESHOLD
1
DEFAULT
SETUP
UNITS DAMPING
BACKLIGHT
*BRIGHTNESS
GAIN LANGUAGE
CONTRAST
*COLORS
AGC
*LANDSCAPE
*DIM
RECT WAVE AGC MAX
DETECT
MARK
TDG SLOPE
*GRATICULE TDG START

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>> End
DATA UTILS XFER
NEW AUTO FIND UPGRADE
GAUGE
EDIT SCAN MODE CAPTURE
VIEWER
OPEN ALARM ABOUT
CLOSE ALARM HIGH
DELETE ONE
FILE
ALARM LOW
DELETE ALL
DATA
DIFFERENTIAL
KEY CLICK
SET DATE
SHOW DATE

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2.3 Selecting the Transducer Type
The first step for using the PVX is to select the transducer type. There are 7 different
types to satisfy a variety of applications. The PVX can use delay line, pencil and
contact style transducers. Selecting the type will load a default setup to use as a
starting point for fine tuning. Note: Once the transducer has been selected/loaded,
the PVX will retain the selection and continue to default to that specific transducer
when the PVX is powered on/off. The transducer type will only change when another
option has been selected. Therefore, if you have previously gone through this
section and selected the appropriate setup, proceed to the next section.
The following steps outline transducer selection:
Selecting the Transducer Type
1) Press the key to power up the PVX.
2) Press the key once to activate the menu items tab. Press the key
multiple times to tab right and the key multiple times to tab left until the
PRB menu is highlighted and displaying the submenu items.
3) Press the and arrow keys to scroll through the sub menu items until
TYPE is highlighted.
4) Press the key to display the Probe Type List.
5) Press the and arrow keys multiple times to scroll through the list
and highlight the correct type.

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6) Press the key to display the confirmation screen.
7) Press the key to select the probe type and return to the menu screen, or
to cancel selecting the material type.
2.4 Probe Zero & Calibration
The next steps are to perform a probe zero and calibrate the PVX to a specific
material type. If the sound velocity is unknown, the PVX can be calibrated to a
known thickness sample. This demo will briefly explain both of these techniques.
Note: A ‘probe zero’ is only required if a contact style transducer was selected, and
pulse-echo (P-E) mode will be used.
The procedure is outlined as follows:
Performing a Probe Zero
Note: The probe zero disk is the battery cap located at the top of the gauge.
1) Press the or keys to enter the main measurement screen and
begin the manual zero process.
2) Apply a drop of couplant on the transducer and place the transducer in
steady contact with the probe zero disk obtaining a steady measurement.

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3) Press the key once to activate the menu items tab. Press the key
multiple times to tab right and the key multiple times to tab left until the
PRB menu is highlighted and displaying the submenu items.
4) Press the and arrow keys multiple times to scroll through the sub
menu items until ZERO PROBE is highlighted.
5) Press the key to display the confirmation screen.
6) Press the key to complete the probe zero process, or key to cancel
performing the probe zero process.
7) Remove the transducer from the probe zero disk, and proceed to the
calibration section.
Note: The value that is displayed will change depending on the current velocity
setting in the PVX. Disregard the number that is displayed. It is not
important. What is important is accurately performing the steps outlined above
to insure reliability of the probe zero calculation.
One Point Material Calibration
For the purposes of this quick start section, we’ll only be covering the most common
one point calibration option to determine the sound velocity of the test material. It
would be very handy to carry a set of mechanical calipers to use in conjunction with
the PVX for making physical measurements of materials to calibrate in the field:

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Using a Known Thickness
Note: If a contact transducer was selected, be sure that the probe zero
procedure has been performed prior to performing this calibration procedure.
1) Physically measure an exact sample of the material or a location directly on
the material to be measured using a set of calipers or a digital micrometer, if
a calibration standard will not be used.
2) Apply a drop of couplant on the transducer and place the transducer in
steady contact with the cal standard or test material. Be sure that the
reading is stable and the repeatability indicator in the top left corner of the
display is fully lit and stable. Press the key once to activate the menu
items tab. Press the key multiple times to tab right and the key
multiple times to tab left until the CAL menu is highlighted and displaying the
submenu items.
3) Use the and arrow keys to scroll through the sub menu items until
MATL 1PT is highlighted.

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4) Press the key to display the Digits Edit Box.
5) Use the and arrow keys to scroll the highlighted value.
6) Press the and arrow keys to scroll the digit locations.
7) Repeat steps 5 & 6 until the known thickness value is correctly displayed.
8) Press the key to calculate the velocity and return to the menu screen, or
to cancel the one point calibration.
9) Finally, press the key to return to the measurement screen and begin
making measurements.
Note: CHECK YOUR CALIBRATION! Place the transducer back on the
calibration point. The thickness reading should now match the known
thickness. If the thickness is not correct, repeat the steps above.
2.5 Measure
The PVX is now ready to measure. There are four different measurement view
options, each with a specific purpose – Digits, RF, RECT, & B-Scan. The steps
below outline how to toggle between the different view mode options:
Selecting the Measure View

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1) Press the key once to activate the menu items tab. Press the key
multiple times to tab right and the key multiple times to tab left until the
DISP menu is highlighted and displaying the submenu items.
2) Use the and arrow keys to scroll through the sub menu items until
VIEW is highlighted.
3) Use the and arrow keys to scroll the view options.
4) Once the desired view is displayed, press the key to return to
measurement mode.
RF View Rectified View
B-Scan View Digits View

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DIGITS: Displays the digital thickness value using a large font size. This view is
useful when the PVX is intended for use as a basic thickness gauge.
RF: Displays the actual waveform signal, much like an oscilloscope, from the
reflection of the opposite surface. This view shows both the positive and negative
peaks, and is often used to fine tune the scope settings.
RECT: Displays a half waveform signal, either positive or negative, from the
reflection of the opposite surface. The user can select the polarity or “phase”
displayed. This is typically determined by first using RF view to select the most
optimal polarity “phase”, setting the polarity, and switching to RECT view.
BSCAN: The Time Based B-Scan provides the user with a cross sectional view of
the material being tested. This mode is useful when there is concern regarding the
profile of the blind surface.
Once the view has been selected the Delay and Range of the screen will potentially
need to be adjusted, considering the view selected is RF or RECT. Alternatively, if
BSCAN was selected, the B-Start and B-Depth settings will potentially need to be
adjusted as well. They are the same, with the exception of terminology; Delay(B-
Start) & Range(B-Depth) and view. These items will be grouped together for the
duration of this manual. Use the following steps to adjust these settings directly from
the measurement screen as follows:
Note: The Delay (B-Start) and Range (B-Depth) are also used to adjust the
parameters of Scan Bar in digits & B-Scan views.
Adjusting Delay (B-Start) & Range (B-DEPTH)
1) Press the key once to activate the measure menu items. Press the
key multiple times to move right and the key multiple times to move left,
until the either the DELAY (START) or RANGE (DEPTH) cell is highlighted.

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2) Press the arrow keys to scroll the DELAY (START) and
RANGE (DEPTH) values.
3) Repeat steps 1 & 2 until the range is correctly being displayed.
Alternatively, the DELAY (START) and RANGE (DEPTH) values can be
adjusted using the Digit Edit Box as follows:
4) Press the key once to activate measure menu items. Press the
key multiple times to move right and the key multiple times to move left,
until the either the DELAY (START) or RANGE (DEPTH) cell is highlighted.
1) Press the key to display the digits edit box.
2) Press the and arrow keys to scroll the highlighted value.
3) Press the and arrow keys to scroll the digit locations.
4) Repeat steps 2 & 3 until the DELAY (START) or RANGE (DEPTH) value is
correctly displayed.
5) Press the key to set the DELAY (START) and WIDTH (DEPTH) value
and return to the measure screen, or to cancel entering the DELAY
(START) or WIDTH (DEPTH) value.
6) Finally, press the key to return to the measurement screen and begin
making measurements.