Enovasense

01 — Product Overview

Enovasense HKM Control Station

Compact turnkey laser photothermal coating-thickness measurement bench — for small parts in lab, R&D and QA

The Enovasense HKM is the compact, entry-level control station of the Enovasense family. It integrates the Enovasense Point Sensor inside a laser-safe enclosure, together with an automated 3-axis positioning system, a touchscreen HMI and the full Enovasense Suite software. It turns a raw photothermal sensor into a complete non-contact, non-destructive coating-thickness measurement solution — ready to receive a small part, position it automatically under the probe, run a programmed cycle and return thickness values and 2D thickness maps in real time.

The HKM is designed for laboratory, R&D and quality-assurance benches dedicated to the control of small parts — flat, stepped or simple 3D geometries up to 0.3 × 0.3 × 0.25 m. It measures paint, polymers, adhesives, anodizing, electroplating, thermal spray, cold spray, HVOF, PVD, CVD, PACVD, galvanizing, and screen-printing deposits on virtually any substrate — covering thicknesses from 100 nm up to 1 mm on a single platform.

Class 1 laser enclosure Automated 3-axis Compact footprint Touchscreen HMI Thickness mapping Lab & QA

0.1μm-1mm Measurable thickness range on a single platform one station for thin and thick coatings	<3% Typical accuracy of the measured thickness depends on the optical system selected and the coating
600×600×710mm Compact footprint — fits on any standard bench only 80 kg total weight	Class 1 Overall laser classification of the station (IEC 60825-1) safe under all conditions of normal use

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02 — Why choose the HKM control station

Six reasons this station earns its place on a lab or QA bench

1. A Class 1 laser enclosure — safe for every operator

A Class 4 laser source is installed inside the HKM, but the station as a whole is certified Class 1 according to IEC 60825-1, meaning it is safe under all conditions of normal use. A large laser-filter window on the front loading door lets the operator see the part being measured, while a coded magnetic interlock, a front emergency stop button and PLe-rated safety relays ensure the laser flux and the axes are cut as soon as the door is opened. No laser-safety training or eyewear is required for normal operation.

2. Compact footprint — fits any laboratory bench

At only 0.6 × 0.6 × 0.71 m and 80 kg, the HKM is the most compact control station of the Enovasense range. It fits on any standard laboratory or QA bench without dedicated infrastructure and is powered from a single 100–240 V AC outlet. The complete station — enclosure, axes, sensor, controller, embedded PC and touchscreen — comes ready to use out of the box.

3. Automated positioning — precise, repeatable, cycle-ready

The HKM integrates a 3-axis Cartesian positioning system (X, Y, Z strokes of 350 × 300 × 200 mm) with 20 µm accuracy. The probe is moved automatically from one measurement point to the next according to a programmed cycle, so an operator can load a part, press start, and come back to a finished thickness map.

4. A full software suite — from signal tuning to thickness maps

The HKM ships with the Enovasense Suite — a complete application environment covering signal testing, frequency scanning, calibration training (neural network), single-point measurement, cycle editing and automated cycle execution. Thickness colormaps, curves and statistics are built live as the cycle runs, and all data is exported as CSV for MES or SPC integration.

5. Compatible with the full Enovasense optical-tool range

The HKM accepts every optical tool of the Enovasense catalog — simple lenses (vertical measurement) and mirror tools (horizontal measurement on side walls or shoulders) — and laser modules from 1 W to 150 W at wavelengths of 445 nm, 980 nm, 1450 nm and 1550 nm. The same calibration logic and software workflow used on the larger Enovasense stations applies on the HKM, making it the natural lab companion to a production HKL2 or HKXL station.

6. Maintenance-light and consumable-free

The HKM has no fluids, no consumables and no destructive sample preparation. Routine maintenance is limited to monthly cleaning of the front lens and the inside of the enclosure, and a quarterly check of the mechanical fixings. The whole station is built around a single embedded PC and a sealed sensor controller — there is nothing for the user to take apart on a daily basis.

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03 — Applications

Where the HKM control station is used

The HKM is the smallest of the Enovasense benchtop control stations. It is deployed across industries wherever small flat or moderately complex parts need reliable, non-destructive coating-thickness control:

Watchmaking & jewellery	Decorative coatings, PVD on small components, lacquers and varnishes on dials and cases
Medical devices	Bioactive coatings on small implants, polymer and PVD coatings on surgical tools
Consumer electronics	Decorative coatings on small casings and connectors, conformal coatings on PCBs, thin metallic and polymer stacks
Semiconductor & thin films	Thin film layers deposited by PVD, CVD, PACVD, screen printing, sol-gel; dielectric and encapsulation stacks, epoxy layers
R&D laboratories	Process characterization, coating development, destructive-method replacement on production samples
General industry	Powder coatings, e-coat, adhesives, screen-printing inks, hard-chrome plating, ceramic coatings on small parts

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04 — Technology

Laser photothermal radiometry — integrated in a safe, automated station

The HKM embeds the Enovasense Point Sensor inside a safe, automated enclosure. A modulated laser beam emitted by the module travels through an optical fiber to the probe, is focused on the coating surface and generates a controlled thermal wave inside the coating. An infrared detector inside the probe captures the returning heat wave. The coating thickness is then derived from these signals through a calibration trained on reference samples.

Why this technology — a summary

Photothermal radiometry is fully optical and thermal: no contact with the part, no electrical or magnetic coupling required. This means the sensor is indifferent to the magnetic properties of the substrate, to surface roughness (within a large range), to part geometry and to the production environment. Inside the HKM, the sensor benefits from a controlled enclosure, an automated positioning system and a dedicated HMI — making every measurement repeatable and operator-independent.

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05 — General Description

The HKM station at a glance

The HKM is built around four main functional blocks: a touchscreen control HMI mounted on a side panel, a laser-safe loading door on the front, an internal probe positioning system with the 3-axis Cartesian robot, and an integrated electrical compartment housing the sensor controller, the laser module and the embedded PC.

Control HMI — the operator interface

A 15.6" touchscreen mounted on a dedicated side panel runs the full Enovasense Suite. Directly below it sit a power indicator light, the emergency stop button and USB slots for a mouse, a keyboard or a USB key. Every function of the station can be operated from the touchscreen alone. The loading door is opened manually by its front handle — no door push button is required.

Loading door and measurement area

The single hinged door opens the full front face of the station to load parts inside. The bottom of the measurement area features a flat work surface with a fixturing zone for sample positioning. The large transparent window on the door is normalized laser-safety glass (IEC 60825-1) that blocks the laser flux while allowing the operator to visually monitor the measurement. A door-closure sensor combined with a magnetic interlock guarantees that the laser cannot be emitted when the door is open.

Probe positioning system

Inside the station, a 3-axis Cartesian translation system moves the optical probe above the loaded part. The probe is fixed to the Z axis and can carry any Enovasense optical tool, including simple lenses for vertical measurements and 90° mirror tools for horizontal measurements. The XYZ axes provide 350 × 300 × 200 mm of stroke with a positioning accuracy of 20 µm.

Electrical compartment

An integrated electrical compartment houses the sensor controller (Precitec / Enovasense Point Sensor controller), the laser module, the axes electronics, the embedded PC and the safety relays. The compartment is sealed against unintended access during normal operation; opening it for maintenance is reserved to trained personnel.

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06 — Software & Workflow

The Enovasense Suite — from raw signal to thickness map

All functions of the station are accessible through a unified launcher. The typical workflow on a new coating-substrate application goes through four phases, which are then reused without modification for every subsequent production measurement:

Recipe editor — programmable, point-by-point

The HKM recipe editor lets the operator define a part grid (geometry, origin, pitch, height of the part), a list of measurement points on a representative part and a calibration per point. Recipes are saved, reloaded and reused for every subsequent batch — load the part, select the recipe, press start.

Live visualization — curves and grid view

As a cycle runs, each measurement is written to a measurement table together with its X, Y, Z coordinates, the calibration used and the thickness value. The HMI offers a live grid view of the part status (waiting / measured OK / warning / error against the recipe tolerances), a per-part summary and detailed measurement results — all updated in real time during the cycle.

Sensor verification — daily metrology check

The HKM software includes a built-in sensor verification mode: a short automated cycle on internal reference samples, run on demand or at a configurable recall frequency, that validates the sensor's stability before a measurement campaign. The history of verifications is logged and can be consulted at any time.

Data storage and export

All measurements are stored on the integrated PC as CSV files. Each line contains the date, time, recipe name, measurement index, X/Y/Z position, calibration used, an operator comment, the raw photothermal signals and the final thickness value. The storage directory and the file-naming rules are configurable, making it straightforward to integrate with MES or SPC systems via a shared folder on the local network (RJ-45 Ethernet).

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07 — Technical Specifications

Full technical datasheet — HKM control station

Key measurement parameters

Measurable thickness range	0.1 – 1000 µm
Accuracy	< 3 % of the measured thickness
Measurement duration (1 point)	10 – 1000 ms
Measuring rate	1 – 100 Hz
Available laser wavelengths	445 nm, 980 nm, 1450 nm, 1550 nm
Maximum laser optical power	150 W (module reference dependent)
Overall machine laser class	Class 1 (IEC 60825-1)

Typical repeatability

Thickness range	RMS repeatability (1 point)	Treatment or coating process
0.01 – 0.1 µm	±0.01 µm	PVD, CVD, PACVD, electroplating
0.1 – 1 µm	±0.05 µm	PVD, CVD, PACVD, electroplating, screen printing
1 – 5 µm	±0.1 µm	PVD, CVD, PACVD, electroplating, anodizing, spray, screen printing
5 – 50 µm	±0.5 µm	Anodizing, electroplating, galvanizing, spray, screen printing
50 – 300 µm	±1 µm	Thermal spray, cold spray, galvanizing, spray
300 – 1000 µm	±3 µm	Thermal spray, cold spray

Mechanical & loading characteristics

Station dimensions, door closed (L × W × H)	0.6 m × 0.6 m × 0.71 m
Station footprint, door fully open	≈ 0.98 m × 0.6 m
Station weight	80 kg
Maximum part size (X × Y × Z)	0.3 m × 0.3 m × 0.25 m
Maximum part weight	10 kg
Axes automation	3-axis Cartesian
Axes stroke (X × Y × Z)	0.35 m × 0.30 m × 0.20 m
Axes accuracy	20 µm
Sample fixturing	Flat work surface with customizable fixturing zone
Control HMI screen size	15.6 in touchscreen
Sound pressure level (LpAd)	< 70 dB(A)

Electrical & environmental specifications

Incoming voltage	100 – 240 V AC
Incoming voltage frequency	50 – 60 Hz
Power consumption	1 kW
Data interface	RJ-45 Ethernet — CSV export — MES / SPC compatible
Operating temperature	−5 to +40 °C
Humidity range (operation)	30 to 75 %
Humidity range (storage)	10 to 90 %

Safety devices

Overall laser classification	Class 1 (IEC 60825-1 — safe under all conditions of normal use)
Door interlock	Coded magnetic interlock on the loading door
Emergency stop	Front-panel e-stop linked to laser & axes interlock
Safety logic	Safety relays at the highest safety level (PLe)
Laser-safety window	Normalized laser-filter glass on the loading door
Compliance	CE, Machine Directive 2006/42/CE, EMC 2014/30/EU, RoHS 2011/65/EU, REACH

All values are typical. Actual performance depends on the combination of items selected (module power, optical tool, coating family) and on the target application. Please contact Enovasense for a performance diagnosis on your specific samples.

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08 — Station Configuration

Available laser modules for the HKM

An HKM control station is always delivered with one integrated Enovasense Point Sensor, configured with one of the laser modules listed below. The choice of wavelength and power depends on the coating material and thickness range to be measured. Switching between different laser sources inside a deployed HKM is only permitted to be done by Precitec Optronik / Enovasense personnel, as it may require changing the laser-safety door.

Reference	Wavelength	Max power	Typical use
C3-W445P3-T033	445 nm	3 W	Applications absorbing in blue — specific metallic coatings
C3-W980P10-T033	980 nm	10 W	Most common industrial coatings — metallic, ceramic, thermal spray
C3-W1450P1-T033	1450 nm	1 W	Applications absorbing in SWIR — polymers, adhesives
C3-W1550P3-T033	1550 nm	3 W	Eye-safer SWIR — thin polymer and paint layers

The maximum power of a laser source may vary by up to 30 % below the nominal value. The HKM is also compatible with the T060 variant of each module (C3-WxxxPx-T060) when used with the T060 probe. Higher-power modules from the Enovasense catalog may be available on request, subject to compatibility with the HKM enclosure.

Typical measurement distance and spot size — selection table

The measurement distance and spot size on the part are set by the optical tool loaded on the probe. The HKM is compatible with the full range of Enovasense tools — simple lenses (vertical measurement) and Mirror+Lens tools (horizontal measurement).

Spot size (mm)	Measurement distance (mm)	Tolerance (paint/polymer)	Tolerance (metal/ceramic)
0.3	10	±0.5 mm	±0.2 mm
0.7	20	±2 mm	±0.5 mm
1.0	39	±4 mm	±1 mm
2.5	20	±2 mm	±0.5 mm
3.3	40	±4 mm	±1 mm

For more details on the embedded Point Sensor configurations, visit the Point Sensor pages.

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09 — Options and Accessories

Extend the HKM to your application

A number of options and complementary accessories are available to tailor the HKM to a specific application:

Reference	Option / accessory	Description
5105902	High-resolution camera	Integrated camera that captures a calibrated image of the part inside the station, allowing the operator to define measurement points graphically on the actual part image and to verify part positioning before launching a cycle
5105889	Automated distance approach	Distance sensor on the probe that automatically positions the optical tool at the correct measurement distance — useful for non-flat parts or for applications with tight distance tolerances
5105929	Probe rotation module	Angular positioning module installed on the probe, useful with mirror optical tools to scan around a bore or a shaft
5105940	Sample rotation table	Automated rotation table integrated inside the HKM — for measuring cylindrical parts around their axis
upon request	Custom fixturing	Application-specific fixturing for grids of small parts, fragile components or odd-shaped geometries
5104786	ISO 17025 reference sample set	Certified calibration sample set for calibration traceability
5105894	Annual maintenance service	Yearly inspection and preventive maintenance on the control station
5105895	Delivery and installation pack	On-site delivery, mechanical and electrical installation, initial commissioning and operator training

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10 — Positioning in the Enovasense Range

The HKM within the Enovasense control-station family

The HKM is the compact, entry-level Cartesian control station of the Enovasense range. It is the right choice when the parts to be measured are small, flat or have simple 3D geometries, and when the throughput requirement is compatible with laboratory or QA bench use. For larger parts or in-line integration, Enovasense also offers larger control stations:

Reference	Name	Automation	Typical use
5108103	HKM	3-axis Cartesian	Lab / R&D / QA benches for flat or simple small size parts — this product
5104906	HKL2	3-axis Cartesian	Lab / R&D / QA benches for flat or simple medium size parts
5105512	HKXL	3-axis + 1-axis loading	By-the-line 100% control, large parts such as engine blocks
5105513	HKXL-IL	In-line 3-axis + loading	Full in-line integration with upstream and downstream conveyors

Not sure which station fits your application? Contact Enovasense with the description of your coating and substrate, your part geometry, your thickness range and your production throughput — we will propose the optimal combination of station, laser module, probe and optical tool, and arrange a free performance diagnosis on your own samples.