The M-Ray technology – based on electromagnetic millimeter waves – support fast and accurate measurements. The waves are not more than the waves coming from your cell phone, your WiFi system or the satellite navigation system. M-Rays are perceived as an innovative alternative to conventional radioactive and nuclear measurement technologies. As opposed to these typically unclean and high-total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) technologies, the M-Ray based measurement systems of Hammer-IMS require no emission licenses whatsoever. The concept is behind the technology is simple, an 'M-Ray' is transmitted from a top sensor head. The wave passes through the material which is to be measured after which it is received by another sensor head at the bottom of the material. Our M-Ray-supported measurement systems count how long it takes for the waves to pass through the material. This enables us to get information about the physical state of the material, e.g. thickness or basis-weight.
Compared to competing technologies, which are often based on nuclear technology, Hammer-IMS is not tied to expensive and rare earth materials. With our electronics-based M-Ray technology, we benefit from the size and performance advances described in Moore’s law. Moreover, the pure electronic nature of the technology ensures that Hammer-IMS measuring solutions are future proof, offering unmatched cost versus performance ratios.
Thanks to the scaling laws of the aforementioned electronics and the modular design of the M-Ray-featuring measurement equipment of Hammer-IMS, multi-sensor-head measurement systems have become available by Hammer-IMS under the brand name of Marveloc-CURTAIN. The multi-sensor head ability of the M-Ray technology enables applications where high material coverage is required.
This revolutionary M-Rays measuring technology is based on 8 years of research at KU Leuven university (ESAT - MICAS research group), conducted by general manager dr. N. Deferm (Noël) and technical manager dr. T. Redant (Tom). Noël specialized in the high-frequency technology itself. Tom developed methods to retrieve useful dimensional information from the environment. Noël and Tom elaborated the concept that the electromagnetic waves slow down when penetrating materials such as paper and plastic. The longer their travel time the thicker or heavier the material. Through accurate time measurements, they succeeded in accurately measuring the thickness or the basis-weight of a range of materials. Multi-disciplinary engineering excellence enabled Noël and Tom to realize economically-viable precision and robustness levels for their M-Ray millimeter wave technology.
The M-Ray technology is available in our integrated scanning solutions among which our popular Marveloc-CURTAIN. Furthermore, we also have an OEM-module for machine builders or sensor integrators. The picture below gives you a quick visual overview on our products.
