Maxcess, a global supplier of products and services for automated web handling applications, has announced a new product in its lineup for the metals industry. Building upon its decades of ultrasonic, infrared, optical, capacitive, and inductive sensors, Maxcess has introduced the new Fife ExactTrak Radar Sensor.

Previewed last year at the METEC tradeshow in Düsseldorf after an extensive 17-month field testing period at Ségal in Belgium, Maxcess has announced the product has successfully completed extensive testing and is now ready for orders.

Through a five-year partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR, this technology leverages radar waves to accurately detect the position of a metal strip through the insulation window of a furnace with temperatures exceeding 1000 °C.

“We are delighted to have partnered with the Fraunhofer FHR, a well-respected research organization known for their rich experience and commitment to innovation,” says Robb Robles, global product manager for Maxcess. “The introduction of radar technology marks a significant milestone in our company’s history, and we are excited to introduce it to the market.”

The Fife ExactTrak Radar Sensor performs center position control (CPC) for metal strips in furnaces with unparalleled speed and accuracy. Its main benefits are a complete maintenance free system, enhanced operational reliability, high precision, easy installation, and an insensitivity to pollution of all kinds eliminating issues that may cause the line to shut down, losing time and money.

This new radar sensor is used for treatment lines for non-contact detection of the center position of metallic strips. lt is an alternative to the well-known capacitive or inductive strip center sensors used today in continuous process furnaces. The conversion from existing sensors to the new radar sensor is fast and easy.

A system consists of two radar measurement devices on each side of the furnace detecting the position of the metal strip from the outside. The transmitting antenna emits electromagnetic radar waves through the furnace window and onto the edge of the metal strip. The radar waves reflect from the edge of the strip back to the receiving antennas. The strip’s actual center position is measured based on the radar wave’s time-of-flight, and the system corrects the strip position in real-time.