The PosiTest arrives fully calibrated and ready to measure. A Long-Form Certificate of Calibration traceable to NIST or PTB is included, which documents actual readings taken by your instrument at our calibration laboratory on standards traceable to a national metrology institute. Beware of ‘Certificates’ or ‘Certificates of Conformance’ offered by competitors. These typically do not include actual instrument readings, and are often insufficient to meet common quality requirements. The PosiTest features a rare-earth permanent magnet that prevents any kind of drift over time. A PosiTest gage that sits unused on a shelf for several years will not drift or lose its calibration.

“Intrinsically Safe” (I.S.) is commonly used to describe electronic products destined for a hazardous (explosive) operating environment. Owing to the mechanical (non-electronic) design of the PosiTest, it does not require certification as an “intrinsically safe” device.

All coating thickness gages are influenced to some degree by substrate roughness. It is generally accepted that coating thickness should be measured from the highest ‘peaks’ in the rough surface thus ensuring they are covered by the protective coating. However, coating thickness gages will instead measure the coating thickness from the effective magnetic surface, which is located somewhere between the highest peaks and deepest valleys of the profile.

To compensate for the influence of substrate conditions (including roughness), measure the uncoated substrate/part at a number of spots to obtain a representative average value. This average value is called the “base metal reading” or “BMR”. Subtract the BMR from subsequent coating thickness measurements to obtain the thickness of the coating over the ‘peaks’ of the rough surface.

Yes, but it depends upon the particular type of nickel coating that has been applied to the steel.

When nickel plating is deposited by a process of electrolysis (employing an electric current in the nickel bath), the resultant coating – commonly called “e-nickel” – is always conductive and magnetic to some degree and cannot be accurately measured by our gages when applied to ferrous or non-ferrous metals.

Electroless nickel coatings are deposited by an autocatalytic process which does not involve the addition of an electric current. If the nickel bath in this process contains a minimum concentration of ~8% phosphorus, the resulting nickel plating is effectively non-magnetic and its thickness can be accurately measured on ferrous steel with a magnetic principle coating thickness gage such as the PosiTest.

The operating temperature range of the PosiTest depends on the use case. The first case is where the measurement surface and the gage are both at the same temperature; in this case the operating range would be -10°C to 60°C (14°F to 140°F). The other case is where the PosiTest is at a “normal” room temperature but the measurement sample may be at a different temperature. In this case the PosiTest can measure on surfaces with temperatures ranging from -50°C to 100°C (-58°F to 212°F), so long as the instrument itself is kept within its operating range.

Yes. The PosiTest features corrosion-resistant brass construction and can be immersed in fresh or saltwater. When used in saltwater, it is recommended to rinse with freshwater after use.

While the PosiTest can be adjusted, this is not recommended for most applications. The permanent rare-earth magnet eliminates the need for adjustment, unlike other mechanical instruments. If a PosiTest is not functioning properly in accordance with NIST / PTB calibration standards we recommend the Gage be returned to us for a no-cost evaluation. Opening the PosiTest for purposes of cleaning, re-balancing and recalibration is not recommended.

No. As a magnetic principle instrument, the PosiTest will measure the thickness of non-magnetic coatings applied to ferrous metals. Our popular PosiTest DFT Combo and powerful PosiTector 6000 N gage models are ideal for measuring the thickness of paint, anodize and other non-conductive coatings applied to non-ferrous metals.

The PosiTest is a simple, manually-operated coating thickness gage. The GO/NO-GO button can be preset for taking rapid, accurate measurements.