Do you want to understand the foundations of automation? Is it your job to make production more productive, efficient and secure? Are you asking yourself how to open up the potential of Industry 4.0?
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Sensors
9 posts
In the last post about the Basics of Automation, we discussed how humans act as a paradigm for automation. Now, let’s take a closer look at how objects can be detected, collected and positioned with the help of sensors.
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Digitizing the production world in the age of Industry 4.0 increases the need for information between the various levels of the automation pyramid from the sensor/actuator level up to the enterprise management level.
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Both washdown and hygienic design are common terms used in the food and beverage industry, and are increasingly being used in the packaging industry. These terms are used in different scenarios and easily confused with each other. What exactly are the differences between them, and in what applications are each used?
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In my last blog, Imagine the Perfect Photoelectric Sensor, I discussed the possibilities of a single part number that could be configured for any of the basic sensing modes: through-beam, retroreflective, background suppression and diffuse. This perfect sensor would also have the ability to change the sensing mode on the fly and download the required parameters for a changing process or format change.
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Here’s a simple way remember how to wire up a 3-wire DC PNP or NPN sensor:
PNP = Switched Positive, NPN = Switched Negative. “Switched” refers to which side of the controlled load (relay, small indicator, PLC input) is being switched electrically. Either the load is connected to Negative and the Positive is switched (PNP), or the load is connected to Positive and the Negative is switched (NPN).
A machine’s automation system operates very much like the human body. Just as we humans perceive our surroundings using our sensory organs, a machine registers its surroundings using presence sensors, input devices, and measuring systems.
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In Metalworking, the clamping status of tools and workpieces are monitored in many applications. Typically, inductive sensors are used to control this. Three positions are usually detected: Unclamped, clamped with object, and clamped without object. The sensor position is mechanically adjusted to the application so the correct clamping process and clamping status is detected with a proper switch point.
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