Sensors & transducers
Palintest doubles throughput with automated jet dispensing system
To improve accuracy, repeatability, and manufacturing speed, adhesives and dispensing equipment specialist Intertronics has supported water testing equipment manufacturer Palintest. The two companies worked together on the development of an automated liquid jetting system using a VERMES MDS 3020+ Microdispensing Valve, which has enabled Palintest to double the number of sensors it can manufacture per shift. Intertronics also built a custom development system to help Palintest more easily bring new products to market.
The product uses electrochemical sensors to test the concentration of chlorine, chlorine dioxide, chlorite or peracetic acid in samples, giving a clear pass or fail mark in 60 seconds. Initially the manufacturing process
O
included manually dispensing reagent onto sensors. Palintest invested in an automated system that was based on a jetting dispensing valve to improve accuracy, repeatability, and throughput. However, Palintest was experiencing problems with corrosion with the new valve. Following research, Palintest turned to Intertronics, for help. Intertronics worked closely with Palintest to customise and install a VERMES MDS 3020+ Microdispensing Valve that optimised the dispensing process and with no corrosion. To enable easier transition into production for new products, Intertronics built a development machine that replicated Palintest’s updated production system, combining the VERMES valve with a Fisnar dispensing robot and vision system. “Anything in the material path had to be
compatible with Palintest’s reagents,” explains Paul Whitehead, strategic accounts manager at Intertronics. “We recommended a valve with a ceramic tappet combined with coated carbide tips. Trials found that
ne key product line for Palintest is Kemio, a water testing system utilising patented single- use sensor technology.
Precise, reliable detection of marks and colour contrast
C
ontrast and luminescence Sensors are usually the ‘go to’ device for reliable detection of print marks and colour variances even at very low contrasts and are typically used for applications such as
printing, labelling and packaging. Sensing and instrumentation specialists Baumer have
developed one of the widest ranges of innovative sensing products and are now acknowledged as being one of the leading ‘one-stop-shops’ for most process to packaging applications. A good example of this is their new range of OC50 / OC60 Contrast and Luminescence Sensors which provide reliable and precise detection of minute and invisible print marks even at very fast speeds thanks to low jitter>7µs. ‘Jitter’ is best described as any deviation in, or displacement of the signal pulses in a high-frequency digital signal and the amount of ‘allowable jitter’ is highly dependent on the sensing application. Developed on the intensity discrimination principle
the OC50 is a basic contrast sensor with the ability to detect even the smallest differences between a mark and the background with a Jitter of >25 µs. It features RGB LED and single-lens optics, PMMA lenses all contained in a compact and robust plastic housing. It also has static teach-in with LED display and is available with optical lenses for distances up to 18mm.
this combination did not react with the reagents and there was no corrosion.” “Intertronics were extremely receptive to
what we needed, and from first contact it was clear they were willing to come on the journey with us,” explains Samantha Lunn, sensor development manager at Palintest. “Our new automated system has
enabled huge growth in our manufacturing output, we can produce up to 24,000 sensors each day, compared with under 10,000 on the previous line,” adds Matthew Hentley-Richold, production manager at Palintest. “We’ve increased our stock levels, meaning we can fulfil customer orders faster, and scope out future expansion in our operations with a possible second production line.” Jetting valves provide non-contact
dispensing with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability, because of their ability to apply ultra-low volume deposits of material at high speed. The VERMES MDS 3020+ can dispense medium viscosity materials up
to 8,000 mPas in repeatable single dots of ≥5 nl at up to 3,000 times per second. Intertronics
www.intertronics.co.uk
66 The OC60 is offered for higher performance contrast
sensing for lower Jitter measurements of >7 µs using the same RGB LED single lens optics as the OC50 although with glass lenses, static and dynamic teach-in within a metal housing. Optical lenses for this option are available for distance up to 40mm. The OC60 also has an adjustable cable outlet in five positions along with industry standard front and side mounting options. These features, along with a sensing beam that can leave the unit either vertically or horizontally ensures maximum positioning flexibility. The OC60 luminescence sensing option features UV
LED single lens optics, glass lenses and is designed for effective detection of fluorescent markings and can be adjusted for five sensitivity levels. It provides very quick response times of 0.34ms and is available with optical lenses for distances up to 50mm. The OC60D has a colour mode to detect not only
the contrast but also the actual colour so is particularly suitable for colour detecting and sorting applications, such as those required for packaging in the food and drink processing industries.
Baumer
www.baumer.com August 2022 Instrumentation Monthly
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102
