Feature: Sensors
Picking the right sensor for your industrial application
By Mathew Thorpe, Regional Sales Director for UK, Ireland and Benelux, Farnell C
apturing data from machines and analysing it to discover trends can give greater knowledge of production processes, better insights into maintenance status,
improved product quality and reduced energy use, allowing manufacturers to take advantage of digitalisation. At the heart of this digitalisation is the Industrial Internet of T ings (IIoT), where sensors on conveyors, production machinery and in warehouses are linked to remote cloud-based computing facilities via gateways, enabling manufacturers to gain near-real-time insight into how their assets are performing and how to improve their processes. Position-sensing technologies such as imaging and RFID are key here, tracking the fl ow of product carriers. T ere are also environmental sensors that send vital data about parameters such as humidity and temperature that can aff ect raw materials and the processes that convert them into fi nished goods. So there is a need for easily-installed sensors with a wide range of sensing modes, ensuring the right kind of sensor is used in the right place. Condition monitoring of machines, tools
and other equipment is another vital aspect in industrial applications. Devices such as the WISE-2410 LoRaWAN wireless condition sensor from Advantech can monitor the status of machinery by measuring vibration and surface temperatures. T e sensor can diagnose anomalies using criteria specifi ed in the ISO 10816 vibration-monitoring standard, avoiding the need for users to create their own analysis tools. Protected to IP66, the sensor can be used in a wide range of applications including HVAC systems, pumps, motors and facilities.
Wireless brings huge fl exibility Installing sensors where they are needed is made much easier by wireless technologies such as Bluetooth, LoRaWAN and Sigfox. Sensors that need fi xed network connectivity can cause problems, especially if changes to the production layout require devices such as presence detection sensors to be moved or realigned. Using wireless connectivity, sensors simply need a power source, with many relying on batteries. T ey are oſt en so effi cient that standard batteries can last several years or even decades before needing replacement.
32 July/August 2022
www.electronicsworld.co.uk A major advantage of wireless-enabled
sensors is that many incorporate their own microcontrollers. T is allows them to process and format data before transmitting it, ensuring they fi lter out unimportant data to minimise traffi c being sent to the network. Standard wireless protocols also
ensure that sensors are compatible with a wide variety of off -the-shelf gateways, which properly format this data into IP frames for relaying to the cloud or edge computers. Some technologies, such as LoRaWAN and Sigfox, deliver data over even longer distances before needing to be relayed by a gateway. LoRaWAN also off ers enhanced security with built-in encryption. All these standard protocols allow easy upgrades, which is another big benefi t in industrial settings.
Keeping emissions in check IIoT solutions can also help companies reduce the eff ect of carbon emissions, which reached a global peak of 36.7 billion tonnes in 2019. T e fi gure is 60% higher than in 1990, placing great pressure on manufacturers to bring emissions under control.
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