Ultrahigh-resolution and non-contact diameter measurement of metallic wire using eddy current sensor

This paper proposes a new method using eddy current sensor (ECS) for online non-contact diameter measurement of metallic wires with ultrahigh resolution. A prototype sensor was designed, fabricated, and tested for copper wires with diameters ranging from 1.12 mm to 1.30 mm. A solenoid coil with dimensions of 16 mm long and 2.1 mm in diameter is used as sensing element with a working frequency of 1.3 MHz. With a well-designed bridge, the sensing coil's inductance variation can be detected and the wire's diameter can be calculated. The ECS system demonstrated a dynamic resolution better than 2.2 μm and a static resolution better than 0.42 nm for a wire with a diameter of 1.3 mm. This non-contact method has competitive advantages over other methods in many aspects, especially in terms of measurement resolution.