Sensor re-tunes in real time

Like the nail that lost the war in the classic poem, the failure of an innocuous sensor in a manufacturing or packaging system can bring operations to a stand-still until the culprit is found and remedied. Many times, however, it would be greater fortune if the sensor did simply fail -- oil vapors, particulates and physical changes in the target can keep maintenance crews scrambling to adjust each sensor to its narrow working parameter so that a line shut-down can be averted.

The SMARTEYE PRO sensor from Tri-Tronics, Tampa, FL, uses several features to automatically adjust to changes in its operational environment. These changes can include dirty lenses, dirty reflectors, broken light guide fibers, light source drift, and target variations in position, orientation and color. Following an initial two-step set-up routine, an AutoSet button programs the unit to its target with a single push, in either static or dynamic operating condition. With each scanning event, the unit's ACT (Automatic Contrast Tracking) maintains ideal settings as clarity of the optics deteriorate. There is also an automatic digital adjustment (ADG) of  the amplifier gain. A digitally-controlled enhanced dynamic range (EDR) prevents dark state saturation and expands the operating range.

The new sensor also includes a 5-LED diagnostic Contrast Indicator and an early warning Action Alert system. Changeable sensor optical blocks, and a wide choice of LED light sources and fiber optic light guides, allow the sensor to be used for a wide array of applications. The SMARTEYE operates on 10 to 30 VDC.

Tri-Tronics sensors use a solid-state LED light source that enables the designer to eliminate most problems previously caused by ambient room light. Modern pulse modulated photoelectric sensors respond only to the light emitted by their own light source. This capability allows the sensor to be very sensitive and responsive to small light changes that occur to the light beam path between the light source lens and the receiving lens.

--RM

For more information, contact Tri-Tronics Company, Inc., PO Box 25135, Tampa, FL 33622. 800-237-0946. http://www.ttco.com Circle 555.