FEATURE SENSORS & SENSING SYSTEMS


Torque about motors B


ased in Stoke on Trent, Solutions Engineering manufactures bespoke


“The mechanical side of the design had to


allow for a considerable variation in motor sizes, but by using a


TorqSense transducer we were able to keep the electrical engineering


commendably simple,” explained David Wood, MD


slip ring motors for driving equipment such as vibrators and pumps. Although these are currently produced in sizes 4kW to 55kW, there are plans for larger units in the future. According to David Wood, MD, the


motors are very robust, so after around 20 or 30 years arduous service they are returned to the company for reengineering. However, as most of the motors are one-offs and there wasn’t an off-the-shelf test rig that would meet the requirements, Solutions Engineering decided to build their own, based around a piezo electric torque transducer from Sensor Technology. Commenting on the rig, Wood said:


“The mechanical side of the design had to allow for a considerable variation in motor sizes, but by using a TorqSense transducer we were able to keep the electrical engineering commendably simple.”


A NON-CONTACT SOLUTION The test load is created using an eddy current brake, which was made by replacing the armature of a DC motor with a solid block, with a large integral cooling fan for thermal management during heavy duty testing. In fact there are two brakes, large and small, which


NON-CONTACT ENCODER SOLUTION


Rotational position needs to be detected in many mobile machine and industrial vehicle applications, however dirt, humidity and extreme temperatures are often present. To help, ASM has introduced posirot PMIS4/PMIR7, a non-contact, wear-free magnetic incremental encoder solution which was designed to withstand harsh environmental conditions. This consists of a sensor


head PMIS4 and a magnetic ring PMIR7 with magnetic index mark. The ring is


mounted directly onto a machine or motor shaft without a coupling, utilising a slide- on mounting solution. The sensor provides a linearity of ±0.1˚, a resolution of 184,320 pulses per revolution and operates at temperatures of -40 to +85˚C.


ASM Sensors www.asmsensors.com 30 SEPTEMBER 2018 | DESIGN SOLUTIONS


can be easily interchanged to match the motor being tested. “During tests we vary the load by


injecting a field into the brake using a variable output DC drive,” added Wood. The brake aligns with the TorqSense,


which is mounted on two fixed pedestal bearings, and is connected to its output shaft. The test motor is mounted on a variable height bed and connected via a cardan shaft to the input shaft of the transducer. TorqSense monitors the torque in a rotating shaft without actually contacting


When it decided to


build its own rig for testing motors after reengineering them, Solutions Engineering


specified a piezo electric torque transducer from Sensor Technology. Here the company explains why


it – it uses a radio frequency transmission head to monitor ‘surface affect waves’ which are created by all rotating bodies. Output signals from TorqSense are fed


into a PC for analysis, with the company selecting TorqView, a dedicated software programme which generates a real time visual instrumentation display as well logging the data for later analysis. “TorqSense transducers are the


easiest and most reliable way I have found to collect real-time performance data from machine drive shafts,” said Wood. “TorqView’s user friendliness continues this ideal of simplicity. All our engineers and technicians use the test rig with a fluency that is only possible because of the simplicity inherent in every aspect of its design.”


Sensor Technology T: 01869 238400 www.sensors.co.uk


CAPACITIVE DISPLACEMENT SENSORS


Micro-Epsilon has extended its capaNCDT series of non- contact capacitive displacement sensors with a range of threaded housing options that enable faster, easier, mounting. The new capaNCDT sensors with thread and socket are


available in four sizes: M8, M12, M16 and M24, with measuring ranges of 0.5mm, 1.25mm, 2mm and 3mm respectively. In addition to the threaded housings, the series is also


available in a cylindrical design with female connector/socket in measuring ranges from 0.05mm up to 10mm; in a cylindrical design with integrated cable in measuring ranges from 0.2mm up to 2mm; as flat sensors with integrated cable in measuring ranges from 0.2mm up to 2mm; or as gap sensors in measuring ranges from 0.9mm up to 9mm. Although non-contact capacitive displacement sensors


are often suitable for use in clean environments such as laboratories, clean rooms and operating theatres, the latest sensors are also designed to operate in dirty and dusty industrial environments. The capaNCDT series is also suitable for the detection of fast moving objects and dynamic high speed processes, enabling fast, reliable, measurements of motion sequences. Capacitive sensors can also be used in vacuums and ultra high vacuum applications.


Micro-Epsilon www.micro-epsilon.co.uk


SENSOR FOR THE IOT


Generating, transporting and processing information are central tasks in the Industry 4.0 environment, and the basis for all the information is intelligent sensors. With its BOS 21M ADCAP, Balluff will be showing a newly developed optical multifunction sensor – the BOS 21M series. There are four sensor modes:


background suppression, energetic diffuse, retroreflective or through- beam sensor. All the sensor functions can be configured over IO-Link while the system is running. The BOS 21M ADCAP is said to be


the first to optically monitor the output of the emitter LED directly and to determine the ‘stress level’ by means of the sensor interior temperature and the supply voltage.


Balluff www.balluff.co.uk / DESIGNSOLUTIONS


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