Add to cart
Board Type : GerberFile :
Layer : Dimensions :
PCB Qty :
Different PCB Design
PCB Thickness : PCB Color :
Surface Finish : Castellated Hole :
Copper Weight : 1 oz Production Time :
Total: US $
Elecrow community is a shared platform and we are not responsible for any design issues.

PCB Assembly

PCBA Qty: BomFile:
NO. OF UNIQUE PARTS: NO. of Components:
Assembly Cost: US $
Elecrow community is a shared platform and we are not responsible for any design issues.
Add to cart
3dPrintingFile : Size :
Unit : Volumn :
3D Printing Qty : Material :
Total: US $12.99
Elecrow community is a shared platform and we are not responsible for any design issues.
Add to cart
Acrylic Type : AcrylicFile :
Dimensions: Engrave:
Acrylic Qty :
Acrylic Thickness:
Acrylic Color:
Total: US $12.99
Elecrow community is a shared platform and we are not responsible for any design issues.
Add to cart
CNC Milling File : Size:
Unit: Volumn:
CNC Milling Qty : Material:
Type of Aluminum: Surface Finish:
Tolerance:
Surface Roughness:
Total: US $12.99
Elecrow community is a shared platform and we are not responsible for any design issues.
closed
user-img

Mirko Pavleski

Published: Sep 19,2024

Arduino Car Paint Thickness Indicator - Meter

A very useful device especially when buying a car to check suspicious areas where auto putty has been applied under the paint.

ccc ccc
Copyright Info

Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA)

Read More⇒
  237
  4
  0
cover-img
 
  • thumbnail-img
 

Hardware Components

  • Arduino Nano R3

    X 1
  • 128x64 LCD Display with ST7565 driver chip

    X 1
  • Pushbutton Switch

    X 1
  • Resistors, capacitor

    X 1
  • Ciol from small relay

    X 1

Tools, APP Software Used etc.

  • soldering kit

  • Arduino IDE

    Arduino IDE

    Arduino

Story

A paint thickness indicator is useful in industries like automotive, aerospace, marine, and construction where precise coating thickness is crucial for quality control and performance. It measure the thickness of paint or coatings on a metal surface. We can use this property, for example, when buying a car, where we can check if the car has a putty hidden under the paint. 

In the following, I will present you a very simple way to make such a device using an Arduino microcontroller board. The indicator will show the relative thickness of the measured paint layer in relation to the spot with the original layer. The device also detects whether the substrate is steel or aluminum.

  As I mentioned before, the device is very simple to make and consists of only a few components:

   - Arduino Nano microcontroller board

   - LCD Dispaly 128x64 dots with ST7565 driver chip

   - three resistors, capacitor and diode

   - two buttons (specifically I use capacitive touch buttons, but you can use standard mechanical buttons without any change in the code)

  - and sensor coil (This is a coil taken from an old electromagnetic relay, in this particular case with an ohmic resistance of about 500 ohms, but any coil with similar characteristics can be used)

 The measurement is performed in such a way that first a rectangular signal is generated at the D2 output of the Arduino, which is then fed to a voltage divider composed of a constant resistor and an inductive reactance, which in this case is a relay coil. Bringing the coil closer to a metal object changes its inductive reactance, thereby changing the voltage at the output of the divider. This voltage, after diode rectification, is measured by the Arduino analog input.

  The procedure for measuring the relative thickness of paint is as follows:

  1. First put the coil to a place on the surface where you are sure that the paint is original.

  2. press the "Calibration" button. Now this value is taken as a reference against which the thickness of the suspicious areas will be measured.

  3. now, place the coil on the "suspicious" place,

  4. and press the "Measurement" button.

  And now let's see how the device works: Immediately after switching on, the "Ready" screen appears on the display. 

During the measurements I will use pieces of metal on which I will simulate paint and putty of different thicknesses, because at the moment I do not have the conditions to make the measurements on a real car.

 As you can see, the device perfectly detects the type of surface (iron or aluminum) and for the thickness of the paint it shows a relative number that does not correspond to the real thickness in a given measurement unit, but still gives us a idea of the thickness of the deposit. With small adjustments in the code we can change the ratio between the actual thickness and the displayed relative number, which would also increase the accuracy.

  And finally a short conclusion. Although relatively simple to make, this is a very useful device especially when buying a car to check suspicious areas where auto putty has been applied under the paint. The device is embedded in a suitable box made of PVC board and lined with colored self-adhesive wallpaper.

Code
  • code

    CODE_Final_so_Frame_88024762666ebeb16215b5.zip
    Download(0)
Schematic and Layout
user-img

Mirko Pavleski

+ Follow

Topic

View All
arduino pain thickness instrument tool car
  • Comments( 0 )
  • Like( 4 )
/1000
Upload a photo:
You can only upload 1 files in total. Each file cannot exceed 2MB. Supports JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP

You May Also Like

View All