Textile handling machines push the boundaries of speed and precision, making a fit with the speed, precision, long range and reliability of Contrinex’s Analogue Inductive sensors.
The sensor’s accuracy of a few µm (microns) is used to measure the small changes in the position of a ‘dancer’ roller or ‘follower’, which tracks the fabric web’s position and so indicates the web’s tension.
CUSTOMER APPLICATION
As the textile web is unwound and fed into the machine, the control system must compensate for minor changes in tension. These can be due to variations in the properties of the fabric and from within the machine itself, such as slight deformation of the rollers, worn bearings, alignment issues, and the requirement to enable acceleration/deceleration to make speed changes.
A web tension control system registers these tension changes via a dancer roller, which rises and falls constantly in small increments (‘dancing’). The customer typically uses an encoder or precision potentiometers to measure the ‘dancer’ roller’s position, with the measurement being fed into a tension control system, which in turn provides continuous feedback to a variable speed drive to accelerate or decelerate accordingly.
Encoders and potentiometers have a moving shaft coupled to the pivoting dancer arm of the dancer system. Therefore, they are subject to wear and tear on delicate bearing surfaces and limitations in the service life of the encoders and potentiometers in a dusty or fluffy environment. To avoid these problems, the customer was looking for a non-contact solution.
CUSTOMER SOLUTION
Contrinex analogue inductive sensors are industry-leading in precision, with long sensing ranges of up to 40mm. However, this application only utilised the sensor’s precision measurement accurate to a few µm (microns) in this dusty environment. The sensor’s Condist oscillator technology ensures excellent temperature stability and repeat accuracy, which is required for precision measurement in the µm range.
Their excellent speed, resolution and continuous non-digitised output is particularly suitable for fast precise measurement of the constantly ‘dancing’ roll in this feedback control system.
Using an analogue inductive sensor requires no mechanical contact but merely an elliptical metal target or direct view of the moving dancer arm. It is then possible to interface the sensor output directly to a controller, with several switch points included in a single device. This dramatically simplifies installation, while the problems of wear and tear associated with mechanical contact are also avoided.
PLUS Automation will help you #MakeSenseofSensors, solve applications, improve machine performance and reliability, and reduce costs using Contrinex’s exceptional Inductive, Photoelectric, Ultrasonic, RFID & Machine Safety sensors.
PRODUCT ADVANTAGES
- High-speed distance sensing
- Long sensing ranges up to 40mm
- Precision measurement – Resolution in microns µm
- Near Linear Analogue Current and Voltage Output
- Robust & reliable in demanding conditions
- EMC resilience
- Highly Reliable with Long Service Life
- Exceptional Temperature Stability
- Low-cost solution.
Click to download Contrinex’s Product Overview brochure to find out more.
Call PLUS Automation on 0121 58 222 58 or email Sales@PLUSAutomation.co.uk to discuss how they can help you #MakeSenseofSensors using Inductive, Machine Safety, Photoelectric, Pressure, Process, RFID and Ultrasonic sensors from CONTRINEX, ReeR & SATRON.
With over 2,000 sensors in stock in the UK, supported by stock held in Europe and short manufacturing lead times, PLUS Automation welcomes the opportunity to discuss improving automation and machine performance or reducing costs.
