Ultrasonic Sensor for Smart Meters Aid Conservation
December 23, 2009 by admin
Filed under Flow, Ultrasonic
MTC ElectroCeramics introduced its piezoelectric ceramic components and ultrasonic sensors for flow measurement of utilities, including gas, heat and water. Ultrasonic flow measurement devices can be a key component of “smart meters” designed to display hour-by-hour real time information about energy usage and pricing, facilitating residential and commercial energy conservation efforts.
Smart meters are being promoted by a $3.4 billion Smart Grid Investment Grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It will be matched by industry, for a total investment worth more than $8 billion. More than 40 million smart meters are expected to be deployed in American homes as part of this initiative.
MTC ElectroCeramics’ piezoceramic components for measuring flow, distance and level have excellent acoustic sensitivity and mechanical strengths to withstand high pressures. Their tightly controlled resonant frequencies are key to achieving consistently good sensitivity levels. MTC ElectroCeramics offers a range of electrode materials and geometries to help customers with efficient high volume manufacturing.
MTC ElectroCeramics also uses its piezoceramic materials to design and manufacture ultrasonic sensors for metering both gas and liquid flow measurement, taking into consideration customer-specific requirements for sensor housing that operates reliably under high pressure and a wide range of temperatures. The sensors are supplied in custom designed housings complete with acoustic matching layers that enhance sensitivity and also provide the required protection from the environment. MTC ElectroCeramics’ in-house sensor test facilities ensure the best possible design solutions for specific customer needs.
Ultrasonic flowmeters are a solid state technology with no moving parts, making them more reliable than conventional mechanical meters. They suffer no pressure loss, offer nearly maintenance-free operation and are more accurate than many competing systems. In addition, they are more adaptable to the type of useful electronic display of energy use envisioned by champions of smart meters.
MTC ElectroCeramics has been supplying piezoelectric ceramic components and ultrasonic sensors to major utilities conducting ultrasonic measurement of hot and cold water, heat and natural gas flows for nearly twenty years. The use of ultrasonics for metering has been widely adopted, with more than 3 million meters installed annually in the European market.
TURCK Expands Line of Low-profile Dual Cylinder Position Sensors
Minneapolis, MN — TURCK announces its BIM-UNT line of compact cylinder position sensors has been expanded to include a new dual sensor for detecting long and short stroke cylinders in stamping, sorting, conveying and other material handling applications. This unique device combines two high-accuracy cylinder position sensors through a single cable connection, reducing wire costs and connection points to expedite installation.
The dual sensor delivers excellent sensitivity and is especially useful for detecting both the home and end positions of a piston during longer stroke cycles. The sensor’s low profile makes it suitable for applications where there is minimal clearance around cylinders, and its single-cable design proves convenient in applications where multiple cylinders are installed.
The BIM-UNT is one of the most compact cylinder position sensors on the market, and it may be mounted in T-groove cylinders without requiring additional tools or accessories. Its active sensing area is located directly at the end of the sensor’s housing, providing accurate piston end detection—even on short stroke cylinders.
Like all TURCK BIM-UNT sensors, the dual sensor may be used with a variety of mounting brackets and cable connections for further installation flexibility. In addition, TURCK provides an extensive line of mounting accessories for tie rod, round and dovetail cylinders.
TURCK
www.turck.us
Sensor Family Replaces Transformers
Silicon Laboratories created an ac current sensor family that replaces traditional current transformers. Silicon Labs’ new Si85xx ac current sensors provide up to 5 kVrms of electrical isolation to ensure safety compliance for a variety of critical power delivery systems such as ac-dc switching power supplies, isolated dc-dc supplies, motor control applications and electronic lighting ballasts.
The Si85xx ac current sensors provide a more reliable, cost-effective alternative to antiquated transformers for today’s modern power delivery systems. Traditional transformers are large, bulky magnetic components that contribute significant supply losses and have parasitics that complicate system design. The highly integrated ISOpro ac current sensors feature a sophisticated architecture that minimizes the need for costly discrete components for filtering and reset circuitry. An available small-footprint QFN package eases printed circuit board (PCB) space constraints with a small 4x4x1 mm profile.
With a measurement accuracy of better than 5 percent, the Si85xx ac current sensors are available in 5 A, 10 A and 20 A versions. They provide a large output signal level of 2.0 V at full-scale output range, eliminating the need for an external amplifier. A “ping-pong” output mode enables one sensor to replace two current transformers and associated components in full-bridge applications, reducing board footprint by more than 50 percent and BOM cost by more than $0.30 (USD).
Offering the industry’s lowest parasitic losses, the Si85xx current sensors enable designers to maximize system efficiency and meet aggressive power budgets for green energy standards. The devices’ low resistance (<1.3 milliohms) and small parasitic inductance (<2 nH) result in more efficient power supplies that are easier and quicker to design.
Mini-Photoelectric Sensor Has Many Installation Options
The new W15 from SICK is a special kind of miniature photoelectric sensor. The latest sensor and evaluation technologies from SICK meet a highly installation-friendly housing design that is common in the US market. Small wonder that the “transatlantic sensor concept” goes down well in Europe, too.
Due to its “USA design,” the series is interesting both for machine constructors active on the American market and for end customers that operate facilities “made in the USA” and are, if required, able to switch quickly to the W15, which is compatible with respect to mounting and connecting. However, for “European-oriented” clients, too, the W15 is very interesting, considering the elegant mounting options that offer benefits specifically in warehousing and handling systems.
The BGS photoelectric proximity sensor is the star of the series
The W15 is a complete production series. All of the devices share an IP67 enclosure rating. The remarkable thing is that besides the usual complementary output configuration, a bipolar output configuration, i.e. PNP and NPN function in one device, is possible as well. The WSE15 through-beam photoelectric sensor and the WL15 photoelectric reflex sensor alike offer ranges of up to 5 m. Both devices generate a sharp light spot that facilitates alignment of the sensor considerably. The energetic photoelectric proximity sensor convinces with a scanning distance of 350 mm.
The highlight of the series, however, is the WTB15 BGS photoelectric proximity sensor. The sensor combines PinPoint technology with innovative chip technology that involves more than a dozen receiving elements, allowing not only precise and stable background suppression and suppression of extraneous light but also electronic and drift-free adjustment of the scanning range. Object detection occurs independent of color and surface properties, which means that no sensor readjustments are necessary.
Maximum possibilities for installation
Featuring three different installation options, the W15 series leaves hardly anything to be desired. On the one hand, the sensors can be mounted by means of side mounting using the lateral through holes in the housing. In addition, the sensors’ M18 threads offer the possibility of front mounting by means of plastic nut or – particularly elegant – by means of snap-ring. The latter option permits the sensor to be installed flush and blind zone-free, for example, on the lateral guide rail of a roller conveyor, thus allowing object detection at close range without the sensor impeding the material flow on the conveyor system.
Unobstructed view of the sensor status
Independent of the respective installation situation, the W15 sensors provide an unobstructed view of the power and status display: on the one hand, from above directly on to the indicator LEDs; on the other hand, from behind through the transparent back cover of the device.
Digital Image Sensor Creators Win Nobel Prize
December 12, 2009 by admin
Filed under Industry News
Digital imaging innovators Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith were awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics today for their groundbreaking work on the first digital image sensor, the CCD. The CCD, or charge-coupled device, is the technology that has made modern digital imaging possible. Boyle and Smith’s invention can be found today in DLSRs, web-cams, hospital imaging equipment, and even the Hubble telescope.
A CCD is a stamp-sized silicon sensor that acts as an eye for digital imaging devices. When light passes through a camera’s lens, it hits the CCD’s millions of photoelectric cells which convert that light into electrons. The more light a photocell is exposed to, the more electrons it holds. (This effect, called the photoelectric effect, earned Albert Einstein a Nobel Prize in 1921.) The information from each cell of the CCD is then translated into binary code, row by row, and finally recreated on a display as pixels. Since the CCD only captures images in black and while, filters are used to determine the colors of each pixel.
Boyle and Smith first came up with the idea of the CCD as a form of electronic memory in a brief brainstorming session at Bell Labs 1969. Its potential as an imaging technology was quickly realized and has been developed over the past 40 years. The first camera to include a CCD appeared in 1981, and the first fully digital camera was released in 1995. Today, the CCD has proven itself to be a valuable tool outside of consumer digital photography, particularly in the medical imaging and astronomy fields. Doctors use CCD endoscopes to look inside the human body without major surgery. The Hubble space telescope uses four, 0.64 megapixel CCD sensors to capture its photographs of deep space.
CCD technology is not without competition. In recent years CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) sensors have surged in popularity due to their low energy consumption and cheaper production costs.
Optical Sensor Accurately Detects Small, Fast-Moving Objects
For sensing applications involving distances as far as 200 mm, Baumer has introduced the new Long-Range ParCon, an analog optical line sensor that projects a continuous 24 mm wide beam of parallel light to a reflector, permitting extremely fast and reliable detection of moving parts as small as 0.5 mm. The sensor can also measure object widths regardless of the target’s position in the measuring field.
This cost-effective alternative to light curtain technology accurately detects and measures metallic and non-metallic objects at high speed processing rates up to 1 kHz with resolutions up to 0.1 mm. The Long-Range ParCon is designed to accurately detect material edges in applications such as packaging, textile manufacturing, paper production, and printing/graphics. This sensor can also be used in PCB manufacturing, food and beverage packaging, laboratory automation, medical device manufacturing and metalworking applications.
The sensor features a 24 mm wide parallel light beam that allows accurate detection and measurement of thick or thin objects regardless of their location within the sensing field. Sized at just 67 x 34 x 16.5 mm, the Long-Range ParCon’s housing contains the sender, receiver, and specialty optics. Only a reflector is needed to operate the sensor, which mounts quickly and easily into small space applications.
Level Sensor Measures Solids In Temperatures up to 900°
BinMaster® Level Controls of Lincoln, Nebraska, USA announces the SmartBob-SH and SmartBob-SHT sensors, which are specially designed for measuring the level of solid materials in storage and processing bins experiencing very high temperatures. The High Temp or SmartBob-HT model is for applications where the process temperature is over 240°F and under 500°F. The Super High Temp or SmartBob-SHT model can handle temperatures up to 900°F and has been used in coke-oven batteries that experience brief temperature bursts of up to 1685°F.
The SmartBob-HT and SHT sensors are configured with additional components that when installed properly, will safely operate in extreme temperatures. A 36-inch stainless steel standpipe is used to extend the remote away from the heat source and a stainless steel pipe extension fitted with a Teflon cable guide keeps the sensor probe out of the standpipe and level with the top of the bin. A standard air purge nipple allows a small amount of air to circulate through the mechanical cavity of the remote, helping it maintain an acceptable operating temperature. SmartBob-HT and SHT sensors are extremely rugged, featuring a durable, bare stainless steel cable and long-lasting motor design which is completely sealed in a strong, lightweight molded polycarbonate enclosure that is explosion proof and rated for Class II, Groups E, F & G certifications.
Continuous Liquid Level Sensor Uses Magnetostrictive Technology
December 9, 2009 by admin
Filed under Level, Liquid Level
OleumTech today announced the release of the H-Series, hard-wired continuous level sensors, which complements its existing wireless liquid level transmitter offering. The H-Series is a digital level sensor based on a field proven magnetostrictive technology, which makes it ideal for Oil & Gas, Food & Beverage and other level measurement applications requiring process control, leak detection or inventory control.
With a low power design, H-Series sensors can be multi-dropped on a RS485 network, providing Modbus connectivity to a RTU or PLC controller. By combining low power requirements with high resolution of 0.01″ across full span, the H-Series provides the ultimate performance and reliability.
“The new liquid level solution is ideal for short distance runs to the RTU or existing legacy installs where conduit and wiring is available,” said Vrej Isa, COO at OleumTech. “But it’s the innovative packaging with the ease of installation that will set us apart from the competition.”
The Liquid Level Sensor is capable of providing product level, interface level and temperature measurement in virtually all tank sizes (up to 60 feet tall) in a variety of liquids such as crude oil, solvents, water, diesel, kerosene, gasoline and other media. The H-Series is available in a rigid stainless steel or flexible PVDF package.
The H-Series design meets applicable regulatory requirements for use in hazardous environments. OleumTech additionally offers an optional barrier board that limits the current, voltage, and total energy delivered to the sensor in a hazardous area or flammable environment. The barrier boards also provide extra protection to the level sensor from lightning strikes or any surge damage.
Scanning Spot Laser Sensor Speeds Welding of Wind Towers
A new, scanning-spot laser sensor designed to automate and speed the manufacture of wind towers and other structures containing metal of different thickness has been launched by Meta Vision Systems. Designated DLS200, the sensor is produced at the company’s factory in Eynsham, Oxfordshire.
The thickness of the steel plates that form the base of a wind tower can be 50 mm or more, while the middle section is fabricated from lighter gauge metal and near the top, the steel is thinner still. Welding of these various gauges requires different procedures.
The base is typically prepared with a U joint profile and welding takes place in several passes. The middle section requires a V type joint and is welded in one or two passes. Steel at the top is welded with a simple butt joint preparation. The DLS200 sensor has a fully programmable scan configuration, which means that a wide scan can be used for the U and V joints, but a narrow scan with high resolution can be used for the smaller butt joints.
Another exclusive feature of the DLS sensor is that the stripe produced by the normal laser scan can be shrunk to a spot. This is useful for welding cap passes where the edges of the weld preparation may have melted away.
At the touch of a button, the sensor can project the spot to measure and control the height of the welding head. At the same time, the machine operator can use the laser spot as a guide for controlling manually the horizontal position of the welding head.
DLS200 sensors are already assisting automated welding of wind towers at test sites and have been well received. Wind tower manufacturers say that the main benefit of using the sensor to provide automatic control of the welding process is improved quality. Defects are reduced, which translates into large savings, especially considering the time and cost of repairing root weld defects in thicker material.
www.meta-mvs.com
Pressure Transmitters Have Sensors, Switches & Display All-in-One
Impress Sensors & Systems is introducing the DS range of pressure transmitters with the benefit of integrated pressure sensing, switching and display functions, thereby reducing installation and equipment costs.
The DS transmitters provide a combination of a pressure sensing with signal conditioning that provides a current or voltage output signal, one, two or four independent PNP transistor switch outputs, as well as a freely scalable and programmable LED rotating display.
Impress Sensors & Systems says the transmitter is suitable for a wide range of applications, including air, oil and hydraulic pressure applications. Pressure ranges start from 10mbar on the DS210 up to 600bar on the DS200. Several options are available within the DS range, including: optional ATEX certification; one, two or four switch points; analogue output in either 4-20mA, voltage or none; electrical connection; and various types of process connections.
There is also a three-wire, 4-20mA configuration that enables users to recalibrate the output signal. The digital LED display is also scalable and can be freely rotated through two axes to suit the installation. The brightness of the display can even be adjusted to suit the environment.
Six versions of DS transmitter are available. The DS 210 is a precision electronic pressure switch with silicon sensor that is suitable for measuring gases, compressed air and thin, non-aggressive liquids, including pneumatics and vacuum technology. Pressure range is from 10mbar up to 1000mbar.
The DS 201 is an electronic pressure switch with a chemically robust ceramic sensor, making it suitable for measurements in viscous or lightly contaminated fluids. Pressure range is from 600mbar through to 600bar. An optional PVDF pressure port is available for aggressive media, where stainless steel is inadequate. There is also an oil- and grease-free version for applications with oxygen. The DS 201 is suitable for use as a gauge or absolute pressure sensor or absolute pressure switch.
Similar to the DS 201 ceramic version, the DS 200 is a piezoresistive, stainless steel sensor that offers higher resolution and over-pressure protection. Nominal pressure range of the DS 200 is from 100mbar up to 600bar. The sensor can be used in a wide range of pneumatic and hydraulic control applications, offering long-term stability and high precision. The sensor can be used with any liquids or gases that are compatible with stainless steel and the O-ring material.
The DS 230 is an OEM digital pressure switch with ceramic sensor and digital display for hydraulic applications. Suitable for use with a wide range of gases and liquids, the lower-cost DS 230 is targeted at OEMs requiring less accuracy and no transmission of output from the device, simply a pressure switch with pressure display. Preferred areas of use are machine tools, hydraulic presses and test benches, pumps and plastic processing machines.
Finally, the DS 201 P and DS 200 P are aimed at machine builders supplying the process industries including chemicals, food processing and pharmaceuticals. Stainless steel flush diaphragms are available, as well as recognised process connections, including inch fittings, Tri-clover and dairy clamp connections.
