IEN: What are the major concerns facing sensing, and how can they be addressed?
Draper: Four major areas of concern are:
1. Generic sensor design. Rather than have a great number of different designs, we are seeing the value of using a smaller basic number of designs within a customer location. Beyond the obvious supply chain advantages, certain types of sensors are emerging that can handle far more tasks than was originally thought. For example, Balluff''s family of self-contained thru-beam fork sensors can handle a long list of different tasks that in the past would have been parceled out to a number of different sensors.
2. Balluff has always worked with customers to help them solve their specific problems, but we are now seeing heavy customer emphasis on sensors in the field of error proofing and the entire field of machine protection. Error proofing is now a new reality on the factory floor, taking the place of traditional quality programs. Error proofing uses quite a lot of sensors, but the trick is to work with the customer to get the most precise and complete data in the fastest time in the smallest space. This takes advanced sensor application knowledge as well as close customer teamwork on a whole new level.
On the machine protection front, we are helping customers use sensors to protect their machines from premature wear and damage from parts being produced as well as imprecise tolerances. This improvement process often results in system-wide decrease in downtime and accompanying productivity improvement.
3. RFID is an area that is now taking off as customers learn the value of subassembly and process tracking. Balluff has a full line of RFID solutions keyed to the complexity of our customers'' processes.
4. Cost reduction often has a value far beyond price. Balluff is repositioning its Micropulse AT transducer to provide a viable alternative to linear potentiometers in most midrange linear feedback position sensing applications.
Compared to linear pots, the Balluff Micropulse BTL6 AT magnetostrictive linear transducer ("Micropulse AT") is the superior position sensor candidate from a performance and long-term reliability standpoint. The most significant advantage of the Micropulse AT is the non-contact, wear-free magnetoresistive sensing principle, an extremely accurate position measuring technology.
With the Micropulse AT, mechanical linkage is eliminated as a source of backlash error, physical breakage, and production downtime. With no moving parts and sealed to IP67 standard, the Micropulse AT is impervious to environmental contamination. It is also shock and vibration rated for use in demanding industrial applications.
IEN: What innovations are in store in the area of edge detection?
Draper: Balluff BWL self-contained thru-beam sensors have built-in "fiber optic" technology, combining an amplifier and a thru-beam red emission or laser emitter-receiver pair that can monitor "slug out" applications if the mechanical layout of the die permits. BWL angle sensors shoot a beam from corner to corner. BWL sensors allow for greater placement flexibility where BGL sensors cannot be used. Here a BWL sensor verifies the final configuration of a part after slugs have been ejected.