contactless Archives - AUTOMATION INSIGHTS

For press shops utilizing transfer rail systems, fixed sensor connections regularly cause frustration. Cables and contacts are often subject to heavy strain. Cables can wear out and break, damaged pins or mechanical collisions can cause hours of machine downtime, and the replacement of large multi-pin connectors comes at a high cost.

Inductive couplers offer an ideal solution: By using these non-contact, wear-free products you can eliminate pin connections and simplify job changeovers on the press. Inductive couplers transfer signals and power contact-free over an air gap. The quick-disconnect units are easy to use and require no maintenance, enabling you to meet new demands quickly. Mechanical wear is a thing of the past. This increases system availability, reduces cycle time and enhances the flexibility of workflow processes.

Inductive coupling example

Replace pin connections for transfer rails

Typically, two pin-based connectors connect the transfer rail to the transfer system on the press. The connections are on both the feed and exit sides of the rail to the control. If there is any misalignment of the connections, damage regularly occurs. By replacing the connectors with pin-free inductive couplers, the connections are simplified and repair work is minimized. Additionally you don’t have open pins exposed to the environment (dust, water, oil) that can also cause nuisances in the connection process.

Replace pin connections for grippers

To connect the transfer rail on each gripper, normally a pin-based connector is used. As the grippers are changed on each tooling change, the connectors become worn and damaged with regularity. By replacing the pin connector with non-contact inductive couplers, the two sensor signals are maintained but the maintenance of these connections is reduced dramatically. An additional “in-zone signal” verifies that the gripper is installed and connected. This provides assurance during operation.

Inductive couplers offer IO-Link functionality

Inductive coupling with IO-Link technology adds more benefits besides replacing the pin coupling. It allows users to transfer up to 32 bytes of data in addition to power for actuation or sensors. If you connect IO-Link enabled I/O hubs or valve connectors to the remote side, you can also store identification data on the IO-Link hub or valve. When the connection is established, the controller can request the identification data from the tool to ensure that the system is utilizing the correct tool for the upcoming process.

With pin based coupling you needed up to 4-5 seconds to first engage the tool and to mate the two ends of the pin couplers and then request the identification. With inductive couplers, the base only needs to be brought closer to the remote so that you quickly couple and identify the tool before engaging the tool — this takes less than a second. Additionally the base and remote do not need to be well aligned to couple. Misalignment up to 15-20 degrees of angular offset or 2-4 mm of axial offset still provides functionality.