The Elcometer 550 Non Contact Powder Thickness Gauge predicts the cured coating thickness of powder coatings by measuring the uncured powder without touching it. This product has been discontinued. Carefully controlling applied powder thickness minimises powder usage and protects coating quality, but contact measurement damages the uncured finish and cannot predict the final cured thickness, so measuring powder pre-cure requires a non-contact method.

The gauge uses third-generation airborne ultrasonic technology to predict cured coating thickness to within 5% of the reading or 5um, whichever is greater, over a measurement range of 30 to 110um with 1um resolution. The 1mm squared measurement area suits flat, curved and small surfaces, and the gauge measures from an offset distance of 18mm from the coated substrate. It can test coatings on a wide range of substrates including metal, wood, MDF, plastic and pre-coated surfaces, with a user-programmable setup to account for varying powder shrinkage rates.

An ergonomic hand-held sensor gun allows easy positioning, with an on-screen positioning graph and handle LEDs guiding orientation for fast, accurate measurement. The large illuminated 90mm QVGA colour LCD has adjustable brightness for varied conditions, and the tough aluminium case (115 x 185 x 35mm, 900g) suits industrial use. A rechargeable NiMh battery gives up to 7 hours continuous use, with units switchable between microns and mils over a 10C to 35C operating range. It can be used in accordance with ASTM D7378 Procedure C. Used in powder coating production, it is supplied by BAMR, South Africa's authorised Elcometer distributor.