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Standardizing Sensors and Cables for Improved End-User Experience

The concept of product standardization holds a crucial role in the realm of manufacturing, particularly for companies with numerous facilities and a wide array of equipment suppliers. The absence of well-defined standards for components integrated into new capital equipment can lead to escalated purchasing expenses, heightened manufacturing outlays, increased maintenance costs, and more demanding training requirements.

Sensors and cables must be considered for these reasons:

    • A multitude of manufacturers of both sensors and cables, which can lead to a myriad of choices.
    • Product variations from each manufacturer in terms of product specifications and features, which can complicate the selection process.

For example, inductive proximity sensors all share the fundamental function of detecting objects. But based on their specific features, some are more suitable for specific applications than others. The situation is mirrored in the realm of cables. Here we look at some of the product features to consider:

Inductive Proximity Sensors Cables
 

·    Style:  tubular or block

·    Size and length

·    Electrical characteristics

·    Shielded or unshielded

·    Sensing range

·    Housing material

·    Sensing Surface

 ·    Connector size

·    Length

·    Number of pins & conductors

·    Wire gage

·    Jacket material

·    Single or double ended

In the absence of standardized norms, each equipment supplier might opt for its favorite source, often overlooking the impact on the end user. This can lead to redundancies in inventories of sensor and cable spare parts and even the use of components that are not entirely suited for the manufacturing environment. The ripple effect of this situation over time can result in diminished operational efficiency and high inventory carrying costs.

Once the selection and purchasing of sensors and cables are standardized, the management of inventory costs will coincide. Overhead expenses related to purchasing, stocking, picking, and invoicing will also go down. The process becomes more efficient when standardized components and materials that are readily available are employed, resulting in reduced inventory levels. Moreover, standardization with the right material selection contributes to decreased manufacturing downtimes.

Also, this transition empowers companies to reassess their existing inventory of cable and sensor spare parts. Through the elimination of redundancy and the elevation of equipment performance, the physical footprint of spare parts inventory can be significantly diminished. Executed adeptly, the act of standardization not only simplifies supply chain management but also extends the mean time between failures while concurrently reducing the mean time taken for repairs.

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Why Sensor & Cable Standardization is a Must for End-Users

Product standardization makes sense for companies that have many locations and utilize multiple suppliers of production equipment. Without setting standards for the components used on new capital equipment, companies incur higher purchasing, manufacturing, maintenance, and training costs.

Sensors and cables, in particular, need to be considered due to the following:

  • The large number of manufacturers of both sensors and cables
  • Product variations from each manufacturer

For example, inductive proximity sensors all perform the same basic function, but some are more appropriate to certain applications based on their specific features. Cables provide a similar scenario. Let’s look at some of the product features you need to consider.

Inductive Proximity Sensors Cables
 

·         Style – tubular or block style

·         Size and length

·         Electrical characteristics

·         Shielded or unshielded

·         Sensing Range

·         Housing material

·         Sensing Surface

 

 ·         Connector size

·         Length

·         Number of pins & conductors

·         Wire gage

·         Jacket material

·         Single or double ended

 

Without standards each equipment supplier may use their own preferred supplier, many times without considering the impact to the end customer. This can result in redundancy of sensor and cable spare parts inventory and potentially using items that are not best suited for the manufacturing environment. Over time this impacts operating efficiency and results in high inventory carrying costs.

Once the selection and purchasing of sensors and cables is standardized, the cost of inventory will coincide.  Overhead costs, such as purchasing, stocking, picking and invoicing, will go down as well. There is less overhead in procuring standard parts and materials that are more readily available, and inventory will be reduced. And, more standardization with the right material selection means lower manufacturing down-time.

In addition, companies can then look at their current inventory of cable and sensor spare parts and reduce that footprint by eliminating redundancy while upgrading the performance of their equipment. Done the right way, standardization simplifies supply chain management, can extend the mean time to failure, and reduce the mean time to repair.

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How to keep prox sensors from latching on

For inductive proximity sensors to operate in a stable manner, without constant “chatter” or switching on/off rapidly close to the switching point, they require some degree of hysteresis.

Hysteresis, basically, is the distance between the switch-on point and the switch-off point when the target is moving away from the active surface. Typical values are stated in sensor data sheets; common values would be ≤ 15%, ≤ 10%, ≤ 5% and so on. The value is taken as a percentage of the actual switch-on distance of the individual sensor specimen. Generally, the higher the percentage of hysteresis, the more stable the sensor is and the farther away the target must move to turn off the sensor.

basic_oper_inductive_sensorBut occasionally, a sensor will remain triggered after the target has been removed. This condition is called “latching on” and it typically occurs when the sensor remains damped enough to hold the sensor in the “on” condition.

Some factors that could cause “latching on” behavior and ways to correct it are:

Having too much metal near the sensor
Using a quasi-flush, non-flush, or extended-range sensor that is too close to metal surrounding its sides will partially dampen the sensor. While it is not enough to turn the sensor on, it is enough to hold it in the on state due to hysteresis. If there is a lot of metal close to the sides of the sensor, a flush-type sensor may eliminate the latching-on problem, although it will have shorter range.

Having the mounting nuts too close to the sensor face
of a quasi-flush, non-flush, or extended-range sensor. Even though there are threads in that area, the mounting nuts can pre-damp the sensor.

Using a sensor that is not stable at higher temperatures
Some sensors are more susceptible to latching-on than others as temperature is increased. This is caused by temperature drift, which can increase the sensor’s sensitivity to metals. In these cases, the sensor may work fine at start-up or at room temperature, but as the machinery gets hot it will start latching on. The solution is to make sure that the sensor is rated for the ambient temperature in the application. Another option: look for sensors designed properly by a reputable manufacturer or choose sensors specifically designed to work at higher temperatures.

Having strong magnetic fields
This happens because the magnetic field oversaturates the coil, so that the sensor is unable to detect that the target has been removed. If this is the case, replace them with weld-field-immune or weld-field-tolerant sensors.

inductive-proximity-sensor-cutaway-with-annotation

For a more detailed description of how inductive proximity sensors detect metallic objects without contact, please take a look at this related blog post.

 

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Distance Measurement with Inductive Sensors

When we think about inductive sensors we automatically refer to discrete output offerings that detect the presence of ferrous materials. This can be a production part or an integrated part of the machine to simply determine position. Inductive sensors have been around for a long time, and there will always be a need for them in automated assembly lines, weld cells and stamping presses.

We often come across applications where we need an analog output at short range that needs to detect ferrous materials. This is an ideal application for an analog inductive proximity sensor that can offer an analog voltage or analog current output. This can reliably measure or error proof different product features such as varying shapes and sizes. Analog inductive sensors are pure analog devices that maintain a very good resolution with a high repeat accuracy. Similar to standard inductive sensors, they deal very well with vibration, commonly found in robust applications. Analog inductive proximity sensors are also offered in many form factors from M12-M30 tubular housings, rectangular block style and flat housings. They can also be selected to have flush or non-flush mounting features to accommodate specific operating distances needed in various applications.

Application Examples:

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For more specific information on analog inductive sensors visit www.balluff.com.

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Back to the Basics: How Do I Wire a DC 2-wire Sensor?

In one of my previous post we covered “How do I wire my 3-wire sensors“. This topic has had a lot of interest so I thought to myself, this would be a great opportunity to add to that subject and talk about DC 2-wire sensors. Typically in factory automation applications 2 or 3 wire sensors are implemented within the process, and as you know from my prior post a 3 wire sensor has the following 3 wires; a power wire, a ground wire and a switch wire.

A 2-wire sensor of course only has 2 wires including a power wire and ground wire with connection options of Polarized and Non-Polarized. A Polarized option requires the power wire to be connected to the positive (+) side and the ground wire to be connected to the negative side (-) of the power supply. The Non-Polarized versions can be wired just as a Polarized sensor however they also have the ability to be wired with the ground wire (-) to the positive side and the power wire (+) to the negative side of the power supply making this a more versatile option as the sensor can be wired with the wires in a non – specific location within the power supply and controls.

In the wiring diagrams below you will notice the different call outs for the Polarized vs. Non-Polarized offerings.

PolarizedDiagramsnon-polarized diagramsNote: (-) Indication of Non-Polarized wiring.

While 3-wire sensors are a more common option as they offer very low leakage current, 2 wire offerings do have their advantages per application. They can be wired in a sinking (NPN) or sourcing (PNP) configuration depending on the selected load location. Also keep in mind they only have 2 wires simplifying connection processes.

For more information on DC 2- Wire sensors click here.

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When is a Weld Field Immune Sensor Needed?

When the topic of welding comes up we know that our application is going to be more challenging for sensor selection. Today’s weld cells typically found in tier 1 and tier 2 automotive plants are known to have hostile environments that the standard sensor cannot withstand and can fail regularly. There are many sensor offerings that are designed for welding including special features like Weld Field Immune Circuitry, High Temperature Weld Spatter Coatings and SteelFace Housings.

For this SENSORTECH topic I would like to review Weld Field Immune (WFI) sensors. Many welding application areas can generate strong magnetic fields. When this magnetic field is present a typical standard sensor cannot tolerate the magnetic field and is subject to intermittent behavior that can cause unnecessary downtime by providing a false signal when there is no target present. WFI sensors have special filtering properties with robust circuitry that will enable them to withstand the influence of strong magnetic fields.

WFIWFI sensors are typically needed at the weld gun side of the welding procedure when MIG welding is performed. This location is subject to Arc Blow that can cause a strong magnetic field at the weld wire tip location. This is the hottest location in the weld cell and typically there is an Inductive Sensor located at the end of this weld tooling.

So as you can see if a WFI sensor is not selected where there is a magnetic field present it can cause multiple cycle time problems and unnecessary downtime. For more information on WFI sensors click here.

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Do’s and Don’ts For Applying Inductive Prox Sensors

Inductive proximity sensor face damage
Example of proximity sensor face damage

In my last post (We Don’t Make Axes Out of Bronze Anymore) we discussed the evolution of technologies which brought up the question, can a prox always replace a limit switch?  Not always.  Note that most proxes cannot directly switch large values of current, for example enough to start a motor, operate a large relay, or power up a high-wattage incandescent light.   Being electronic devices, most standard proxes cannot handle very high temperatures, although specialized hi-temp versions are available.

A prox is designed to be a non-contact device.  That is, it should be installed so that the target does not slam into or rub across the sensing face.  If the application is very rough and the spacing difficult to control, a prox with more sensing range should be selected.  Alternately, the prox could be “bunkered” or flush-mounted inside a heavy, protective bracket.  The target can pound on the bunker continuously, but the sensor remains safely out of harm’s way.

If direct contact with a sensor absolutely cannot be avoided, ruggedized metal-faced sensors are available that are specifically designed to handle impacts on the active surface.

Be sure to consider ambient conditions of the operating environment.  High temperature was mentioned earlier, but other harsh conditions such as disruptive electrical welding fields or high-pressure wash-down can be overcome by selecting proxes specially designed to survive and thrive in these environments.

Operationally, another thing to consider is the target material.  Common mild carbon steel is the ideal target for an inductive prox and will yield the longest sensing ranges with standard proxes.  Other metals such as aluminum, brass, copper, and stainless steel have different material properties that reduce the sensing range of a standard prox.  In these cases be sure to select a Factor 1 type proximity sensor, which can sense all metals at the same range.

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We Don’t Make Axes Out of Bronze Anymore

Every technology commonly in use today exists for a reason.   Technologies have life cycles: they are invented out of necessity and are often widely used as the best available solution to a given technical problem.  For example, at one time bronze was the best available metallurgy for making long-lasting tools and weapons, and it quickly replaced copper as the material of choice.  But later on, bronze was itself replaced by iron, steel, and ultimately stainless steel.

When it comes to detecting the presence of an object, such as a moving component on a piece of machinery, the dominant technology used to be electro-mechanical limit switches.  Mechanical & electrical wear and tear under heavy industrial use led to unsatisfactory long-term reliability.  What was needed was a way to switch electrical control signal current without mechanical contact with the target – and without arcing & burning across electrical contacts.

Example of an inductive proximity sensor
Example of an inductive proximity sensor

Enter the invention of the all-electronic inductive proximity sensor.  With no moving parts and solid-state transistorized switching capability, the inductive proximity sensor solved the two major drawbacks of industrial limit switches (mechanical & electrical wear) in a single, rugged device.  The inductive proximity sensor – or “prox” for short – detects the presence of metallic targets by interpreting changes in the high-frequency electro-magnetic field emanating from its face or “active surface”.  The metal of the target disrupts the field; the sensor responds by electronically switching its output ON (target present) or OFF (target not present). The level of switched current is typically in the 200mA DC range, which is enough to trigger a PLC input or operate a small relay.

In my next post, I will explain the do’s and don’ts for applying inductive prox sensors.

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Visit Automation Tradeshows for Free!

I am experiencing the future of tradeshows; a networking & educational conference without the travel, the expense, and the suit!  I can sit at my desk and make contact with future vendors and customers.  The online database GlobalSpec hosts multiple times per year industry specific virtual tradeshow events.  There are presentations and exhibitors.  A place to sit and drink virtual coffee with your peers and of course the token giveaway raffles.

Today I am working the Balluff booth in the Sensors and Switches Virtual show.  It is a collection of companies and attendees from many different industries.  I really enjoy these events because we can contact quickly with potential customers and potential vendors right from the comfort of our conference room and at a much reduced cost. Here you can see our hard working staff chatting with customers.

Check out the Balluff booth at the  Sensors & Switches Virtual Tradeshow, it will be available to visit for 90 days from today.

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Are Limit Switches Obsolete?


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Being the “product guy” for mechanical or limit switches I am often told that I have the obsolete products. Well I am here to say that mechanicals are still around and definitely have their place in automation.

Mechanical switches, at least the ones I deal with, are precision limit switches. How can a mechanical switch be a precise device? These switches use a cam or trip dog and once the switch and cam are secured in the application, the repeatability, with a chisel plunger, can be .002mm – that’s two microns. Applications for these switches include actuators for automatic controls, positioning and end of travel for machine tools, transfer lines, transport equipment, and gantries.

Continue reading “Are Limit Switches Obsolete?”