RDP Electronics has announced that its non-contact MTS Temposonics position sensors can measure up to 30 positions along a common axis using a single sensor.
The company said by using simultaneous detection of several positions and a single sensor, savings in costs and space can be achieved compared to conventional displacement sensors and rotary encoders.
The multi-position sensor is suited to applications such as cutting in the paper, ceramics, metal working and timber industries, or for multi-position measurement for materials handling, plastics machinery or construction monitoring.
For example, controlling rapid and precise adjustment of cutting width, each cutting tool can have its own position magnet on the sensor mounted in parallel to the motion axis and travelling independently.
Each magnet is firmly attached to a moving machine part.
Multi-position measurement is available for all Temposonics sensors with fieldbus interface, giving Canbus and Profibus versions the ability to measure up to 30 positions simultaneously.
Sensors with Ethercat output provide measurement of up to 20 positions in one cycle in the asynchronous mode, or five positions and five velocities during the synchronous mode (distributed clock).
For operational flexibility, the sensors are available as profile or rod-shaped versions, with detached electronics or with a flexible sensing element.
With a linearity better than +/- 0.01 per cent FS and a repeatability of < +/- 0.001 per cent FS, measurement lengths up to 20m are available.
