Zelos - Density testing of sintered parts

The QASS Zelos system was developed with the aim of supporting companies in quality assurance in sintering. The Zelos system is an automated laboratory system for checking the density of sintered components. The measuring system installed is the QASS Optimizer4D with µmagnetic – the micromagnetic extension for hardness testing, grinding burn testing and segment density testing for sintered parts.

The Zelos system for testing sintered parts combines micromagnetic measuring technology with smooth component handling. Test specimens are gently removed from the holder by a pneumatically controlled magnetic gripper and guided to the micromagnetic sensor via two linear axes. A laser distance sensor ensures the correct positioning of the test specimen. A torque motor ensures the rotation of the test specimen, so that a test specimen can be measured at several measuring positions. After the measurement, the test specimen is guided back to the holder via the linear axes and placed back into the holder by the magnetic gripper without being damaged.

Handling is controlled by the QOBOT robotics software from QASS, which is started in the background by the Analyzer4D measuring system software and with which information is continuously exchanged, for example about the selected measurement settings or the status of the individual linear axes.

To make the use of the system as easy as possible, QASS has developed a graphical user interface (GUI) specifically for the Zelos system. This GUI is adaptive and can be customized to meet customer requirements.
The GUI combines configuration, control and result display for the user. Configurations for different test specimens can be saved and loaded in the Optimizer4D database and the quality test can be started and stopped via the GUI.

The user can flexibly adapt the measurement to his needs. Not only the number of test specimens to be tested, but also the number of measurement positions and the number of measurement repetitions per position are adjustable. In addition, the user can independently define tolerance limits.
The micromagnetic segment density test for sintered parts is based on the magnetic Barkhausen effect – also called Barkhausen noise. The micromagnetic sensor records the Barkhausen signals generated as a reaction of the test specimen to magnetization by an external alternating magnetic field. The Barkhausen signals are processed in the Optimizer4D by the Analyzer4D software and evaluated using spectral analysis, pattern recognition and energy detection. The aim is to make the energies of the Barkhausen signals comparable using statistical methods, so that conclusions can be drawn about the mass distribution in the test specimens. The test results are clearly presented to the user – both graphically and in tabular form. If a tolerance limit is exceeded, the measuring system alerts the user by means of a color-coded indicator.
The Analyzer4D software, and thus the data analysis, can also be flexibly adapted to customer requirements. The data analysis is based on the principle of data flow modeling and uses operators. These are analysis tools or microprograms that can be individually combined with each other. These operators also include scripting tools based on Python and JavaScript, which can be used to additionally individualize and extend the data analysis.