Issue 14 - July, 2005

Introduction

Advanced Gauging Technologies (A.G.T.) was founded in 1997 by the father and son team of Ron and Scott Cook. Their goal was to bring isotope thickness gauging into the 21st century. In the eight years since the first AGT400 system startup, A.G.T. has already sold more than 125 gauging systems – strong evidence that customers feel we have delivered tomorrow's gauging system today. In addition to our own gauges, we perform regular service on more than 300 of our competitors' gauges throughout North America.

The Gauging Times™ is a quarterly newsletter designed to keep current and future customers up-to-date with the latest thickness gauging technology and features, along with services we offer. In each issue we'll share some of our system's unique capabilities, in addition to personal profiles, technical tips and glimpses of our future product development.

Five Year Anniversary!

A milestone of sorts has been reached by our Senior Field Service Engineer here at Advanced Gauging. John Fearing reached the five year mark with us on July 1, 2005. Since John joined the team, A.G.T. has doubled in size and moved into a new facility. We are proud to say that John has been a huge part of the success that A.G.T. has seen. Many of you know John, and chances are, he's fixed a gauge problem or two for you over the course of the last few years. In honor of this milestone, we thought we'd give you an update on what he's been up to.

John became an uncle for the second time recently. To go along with his niece, Brianna, who is now four, he now has a nephew named William. John is doing his best to carry on the tradition of all uncles by spoiling the kids terribly.

John's hobbies have changed a bit over the last few years. For starters, John recently started riding motorcycles. His first bike, a 2001 Honda Shadow VLX, has taken John on many a journey over the last year and a half. He recently moved up in size with the purchase of a 2004 Honda Shadow VTX1300. The only bad part of the new hobby is that his golf game has suffered. "If it's warm enough for golf, it's warm enough to ride."

John's other hobby is his 1999 Grand Prix. Many of you have seen his car around, as it's his work car. What you may not know is that he has been racing this car as well. It recently ran a 13.4 second, 101 MPH quarter mile in street trim. This 350 HP FWD car is faster than most Grand Prix's you see out there, but this doesn't mean he'll get to your plant for service any faster!

Network Capabilities

Imagine: Your operator is beginning your most important customer's next coil. He flips his ADE/ADG gauge switch located on his console. Your plant network then sends the coil information to your thickness gauge (i.e., coil numbers, width, limits, etc.) The gauge then goes online, opens the shutter and begins collecting data. Once the coil processing is finished, the operator flips the switch again and the gauge goes offline, the shutter closes and the data collection stops. A few minutes later, the quality and production managers are reviewing the coil data at their desk via Offline Data Analysis ensuring that your customers are getting what they need to keep them happy. The coil report is then emailed to your customer before the actual coil is even shipped.

All this is can be easily accomplished through Advanced Gauging Technologies already, or in the case of emailing coil reports, in the near future. Using the AGT400 and Offline Data Analysis, many of our customers already utilize some of these features to increase productivity, quality, and their customer's satisfaction. The AGT400 is a Windows® based system, making it fully capable of being connected to your plant network.

Radiation Safety

"Am I going to glow?" We get this question all the time. The answer, of course, is no. But everyone should be aware of and understand the basics of working around Americium 241 (Am241). Am241 is a strong gamma emitter (strong enough to penetrate up to 0.250" of steel) and will penetrate the human body. Now there is no reason to run for the fallout shelters just yet. The source head and C-frame are designed to minimize the amount of radiation present. On top of this, there is very little radiation over three feet away from the source. The rule of thumb is to remain an arm length (about 3 feet) away while the shutter (red light on) is open. Following these simple procedures will eliminate nearly all risks associated with using a gauge utilizing Am241:

*DO NOT place any body part between the measuring heads or remain within three feet of the source head for extended periods of time when the shutter is open (red light on).

*ENSURE the shutter is in the closed position when the gauge is not in use and that both the red (shutter open) and green (shutter closed) lamps are working.

Am241 is an extremely safe radiation source to work around. Following safety procedures will minimize your risk and exposure. As a matter of fact, you will probably get more radiation from the sun on your drive home today than you will get from using your gauge for a week.