Industries & Applications
  • Automotive Exterior

New Rhopoint TAMS (Total Appearance Measurement System)

  • NEW metrics for paint appearance measurements
  • Suitable for raw materials, e-coats, primers, top coat and clear coat
  • Characterization of common surface irregularities including defects, waviness and roughness
Try before you buy

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Extended warranty

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Try before you buy

Find out more

Extended warranty

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What is the Rhopoint TAMS®?

Instrumental analysis of surface appearance, roughness and waviness in the automotive painting process.

A product jointly developed by Rhopoint Instruments and Volkswagen AG. A beautiful smooth finish is a key aim when painting a vehicle. The quality of this finish is determined by the surface roughness & waviness of the raw material to be painted and the effectiveness of each subsequent coating process as well as any polishing or sanding operations.

The coating system is built of many layers. As each layer is applied, it tends to smooth the material. Measuring the surface at each stage gives opportunities to optimize the overall paint process and understand the factors which most influence the final appearance.

Vehicle Coatings:

Vehicle paint layers - coatings

The Rhopoint TAMS® can measure and map surfaces at all stages of paint processes from raw material to final topcoat.

This innovative device has many of the advantages of the high-resolution analytical tools combined with the portability and accessibility of a hand held device.

What does Rhopoint TAMS® measure?

Optimap3, the unique portable solution for surface inspection, allows rapid large area measurement and analysis of all types of coated or uncoated surfaces.

To evaluate the suitability of raw materials, to optimize individual processes and to build a complete picture of how the quality of the final product is influenced at each paint stage, analytical data is needed to understand how each paint process fills, smooths and masks the underlying roughness from the base material such as steel and aluminum.

Widely used laboratory devices producing 3D topographical maps with a sub-micron accuracy and resolution can only be used off-line, and measurement time is also a limiting factor as capturing a representative area on a surface may take many minutes or even hours. The high costs of the equipment and complexity of use usually limit deployment of analytical tools to central development functions in the OEM.

Fully portable TAMS® measures these surfaces with sub micron resolution, in situ in under 10 seconds . Measurements are taken according to DIN EN ISO 4287 (like optical Ra), or DIN EN ISO 25178 for a real topographic information (like Sa), but all topographic information may be exported in open *.res format for deeper analysis with commercial topographical analysis software.

The Rhopoint TAMS® can measure:

  • Waviness
  • Contrast
  • Dominant Structure Size
  • Sharpness

The Rhopoint TAMS® Technologies:

  • Phase Measurement Deflectometry (PMD)
  • Provides ISO 16610 compliant high-resolution 3D altiude maps
  • Consistent readings of raw materials, surfaces in the painting process
TAMS9 Total Appearance Measurement
The Rhopoint TAMS® creates a reading within 10 seconds.

The production of E-coating

Vehicle paint layers - coatings

The intermediate production step of E-coating (also known as Electrophoretic Painting, Electrocoating, Electropainting etc.) is a high-tech process that has a impact on the final quality and thus requires as much control as any other production step.

Controlling the E-coat with Rhopoint TAMS® and its advanced quality parameters, e.g. ISO GPS texture analysis topographic roughness indices like Sa, gives complete documentary overview of the paint process.

This can result not only in better final quality but also in lower unit costs.

Topographical Analysis Software

All measurements are compatible with Rhopoint’s own free image analysis software “Optimap Reader” included in the price of the TAMS®.

Similar to the Raw Material mode, all topographic measurements taken are compatible with Rhopoint‘s Optimap Reader software or any commercial topographical analysis software.

Not only relevant topographic indices can be analyzed. For simplicity, Rhopoint TAMS® enables easy documentation and reporting by using Rhopoint Quality indices to judge overall quality of an E-coat.

Optimap reader software

Clear coat measurement

For maximum visual impact, an automotive paint finish must instantly produce an appealing visual sensation for the customer

Vehicle paint layers - coatings

Clear coat measurements are made by the Rhopoint TAMS® by measuring a 2D area of the surface from a fixed measurement position.

Improved correlation to visual perception and its easily communicated parameters gives the Rhopoint TAMS® a major advantage other methods currently used in the automotive industry which product complex results.

The appearance quality, as judged by the consumer, is determined by surface texture which reduces its visual impact.

Rhopoint TAMS® measurement

The measurement parameters of the Rhopoint TAMS® provides values for the individual elements that contribute to how the surface is viewed by the consumer (final appearance).

SHARPNESS

Sharpness quantifies the accuracy of images reflected in the surface. 100% indicates a perfect reflection.
At close distances (<0.5m) Sharpness measures how well a surface reflects fine details. At showroom viewing distance, (1.5m) Sharpness quantifies haze and clarity.

CONTRAST

Contrast is related to the color of the surface; white and metallic surfaces have low contrast, a deep black measures 100%. Contrast influences the visual impact of orange peel and haze effects, both being more visible on high contrast dark colours.

DOMINANT STRUCTURE SIZE

Indicates the dominant structure size perceived at showroom viewing distance. Typical values are between 1–10mm, the dominant structure size is important in determining the harmony between adjacent parts.

HARMONY

Based on extensive human perception research by Volkswagen AG and AUDI AG, this value indicates the acceptability of adjacent parts. A value of >1.0 indicates that parts are not similar and if viewed together (e.g. door to door) will detract the eye from overall visual quality.

WAVINESS

Correlated to human perception, waviness quantifies the visible impact of surface waves to an observer at showroom distance (1.5m). The waviness of a surface is critical for determining appearance quality.

QUALITY

One single value predicting the visual rating of the total appearance quality of a surface, with 100% indicating a smooth finish with perfect image forming characteristics.

Contrast

Low Contrast
High Contrast - Car Reflection
High Contrast

Contrast is related to the colour of the surface; white and metallic surfaces have low contrast, a deep black measures 100%.

Contrast influences the visual impact of orange peel and haze effects, both being more visible on high contrast dark colours.

Dominant Structure Size

Small Dominant Structure - Car Reflections
Small Dominant Structure
Large Dominant Structure - Car Reflection
Large Dominant Structure

Indicates the dominant structure size perceived at showroom viewing distance. Typical values are between 1–10mm, the dominant structure size is important in determining the harmony between adjacent parts.

Sharpness

Low Sharpness - Car Reflection
Low Sharpness
High Sharpness

Sharpness quantifies the accuracy of images reflected in the surface. 100% indicates a perfect reflection.

At close distances (<0.5m) Sharpness measures how well a surface reflects fine details. At showroom viewing distance, (1.5m) Sharpness quantifies haze and clarity.

Waviness

Low Waviness - Car Reflection
Low Waviness
High Waviness - Car Reflection
High Waviness

Correlated to human perception, waviness quantifies the visible impact of surface waves to an observer at showroom distance (1.5m).

The waviness of a surface is critical for determining appearance quality.

Measurements that match visual perception

In addition to providing major surface parameters, customer visual preferences can be judged by unique Quality and Harmony indices.

Quality

One single value predicting the visual rating of the total appearance quality of a surface, with 100% indicating a smooth finish with perfect image forming characteristics.

Harmony

Based on extensive human perception research by Volkswagen AG and AUDI AG this value indicates the acceptability of adjacent parts.

A value of >1.0 indicates that parts are not similar and if viewed together (e.g. door to door) will detract the eye from overall visual quality.

New TAMS with strap

Ethically Sustainable

The Rhopoint TAMS is made from an all aluminium construction which means it can be recycled at the end of its long life.

Sample results and correlation

Rhopoint TAMS® allows the quality of each stage of a typical coatings process to be measured and quantified

Steel

Screenshot 2022-05-11

RAW

Ra0.8=0.4μm
Wa10-50=0.59μm

TAMS E-Coat

E-COAT

Ra0.8=0.10μm
Wa10-50=0.17μm

B-COAT

Ra0.8=0.19μm
Wa10-50=0.34μm

C-Coat TAMS

C-COAT

Ra0.8=0.02μm
Wa10-50=0.21μm

Aluminium

RAW2

RAW

Ra0.8=0.32μm
Wa10-50=0.32μm

TAMS E-Coat 2

E-COAT

Ra0.8=0.13μm
Wa10-50=0.21μm

TAMS B-Coat

B-COAT

Ra0.8=0.14μm
Wa10-50=0.29μm

TAMS C-Coat

C-COAT

Ra0.8=0.03μm
Wa10-50=0.29μm

Features

TAMS 4 TB
Colour Screen

Full colour IPS screen

Easy to use interface

5 capacitive sense buttons

Soft-touch

Does not damage delicate surfaces

Measurement Operation

Tactile button & capacitive sensors with a push auto system

Processing Time

Capture and processing time = 10 seconds

Long Lasting

Rechargeable & removeable lithium polymer batteries

Included Accessories
  • Docking station
  • Batteries (x2)
  • Calibration tile
  • SD Card
  • Optimap reader license
  • Wrist strap
  • Instrument calibration certificate
  • Carry case
Total Appearance Measurment System

Specifications

Sharpness
UnitsS (%)
Minimum (No visible reflection)0
Maximum (Perfect mirror)100
Resolution0.1
Repeatability0.1 (SD)
Reproducibility0.5 (SD)
Measurement TechniqueOptical Transfer Function
Waviness
UnitsW (W units)
Minimum0
Maximum (typical)30
Resolution0.1
Repeatability0.2 (SD)
Reproducibility1 (SD)
Measurement TechniqueReflected Image Line Deformation Analysis
CorrelationAUDI AG MDS Perception analysis
Quality
UnitsQ (%)
Minimum0
Maximum (typical)100
Resolution0.1
Repeatability0.8 (SD)
Reproducibility1 (SD)
AlgorithmCalculated using Sharpness & Waviness
CorrelationAUDI AG MDS Perception analysis
Contrast
UnitsC (%)
Minimum (Perfect Diffuse White)0
Maximum (Perfect Black)100
Resolution0.1
Repeatability0.1 (SD)
Reproducibility0.3 (SD)
Measurement TechniqueOptical Transfer Function
Dimension
UnitsD (mm)
Minimum0.5
Maximum (typical)8
Resolution0.1
Repeatability0.1 (SD)
Reproducibility0.4 (SD)
Measurement TechniquePhase Measurement Deflectometry
CorrelationAUDI AG MDS Perception analysis
Harmony
UnitsH (H units)
Minimum0
Maximum (typical)8.9
Resolution0.1
Repeatability0.1 (SD)
Reproducibility0.4 (SD)
AlgorithmCalculated using Waviness & Dimension
CorrelationAUDI AG MDS Perception analysis
Instrument Information
Fully enclosed unit with integrated capture and analysisYes
Measurement Area50 x 60mm FOV (field of view)
Compatible resultswith Rhopoint TAMS™
Capture Time<2 Seconds
Spatial resolution32um / pixel
Results outputCSV
Positioning error detectionYes
Calibration station for instrument check and focus settingYes
Inbuild optical component contamination reduction systemYes
Power and Connectivity
ConnectionLAN Ethernet
Flexible connection optionsYes
Power24 Volts (max current 3 Amps)
Range of robot mounting optionsYes
Free extended warranty

Free extended 2 year warranty: Requires registration at www.rhopointinstruments.com/help-services/forms-feedback/instrument-registration/ within 28 days of purchase. Without registration, 1 year standard warranty applies.

Calibration and service

Fast and economic service via our global network of accredited calibration and service centres. Please visit www.rhopointinstruments.com/help-services/calibration-servicing/ for detailed information.

Answers to common questions about our instruments and measurements

Why measure gloss?

Gloss is an aspect of the visual perception of objects that is as important as colour when considering the psychological impact of products on a

What glossmeter do I need?

Identify the surface that you wish to measure. Is it a flat surface? If so, it can be measured with a traditonal glossmeter. Curved surfaces

What is RSpec?

RSpec is the peak reflectance measured over a very narrow angular band in the specular direction (+/-) 0.0991º. RSpec is very sensitive to any texture

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New Rhopoint TAMS (Total Appearance Measurement System)