Features

American Sensor Technologies has released the AST4530 PVDF / PTFE submersible pressure transducer. Intended for liquid level measurement of corrosive liquids in which stainless steel or titanium cannot survive, the AST4530 is designed to offer excellent long-term survivability and stability. All materials exposed to the sensor are optimized for compatibility, including the PVDF cable and seal.

The AST4530 submersible pressure transducer offers a variety of measurement ranges from 0-2.5 PSI up to 30 PSI. 

Through the latest sensing technologies, the changes in pressure are transmitted through a PTFE diaphragm and converted to an output signal using ASIC electronics. A 1-5V and 0.5-4.5V ratiometric are available for low current consumption applications, whereas a 4-20mA output signals is available long distance transmissions.

With submersible pressure transducers, vapours generated from the liquid will not affect the sensing element. Foaming or reflections of the liquid will not generate false readings, because the sensor measures liquid pressure based on specific gravity. AST4530 submersible transducers are vented to atmosphere through the cable for optimal accuracy.

Industries with field trial installations include: Municipal water / waste water management sites; Salt water / brine tanks; Chemical containers / totes requiring inventory management; Petrochemical above ground storage tanks, etc.

www.astsensors.com

The Energy Conservatory (TEC) has announced the release of the TEC WiFi Link, a new accessory for the DG-700 and DG-500 Pressure Gauges. This new technology creates a wireless network that can be utilized by any computer or iOS mobile device with WiFi capability. This allows the user to monitor and control the gauge without the limitations of wired connections.

“This technology fits perfectly into TEC’s goal of providing users with the most up-to-date tools and procedures so they can efficiently deliver high-quality building performance services. The TEC WiFi Link adds the power and convenience of wireless communication to what is already the most widely used line of digital pressure gauges in the industry,” said TEC general manager, Rob Nevitt.

The WiFi Link will work with the free TECTITE 4.0 (WiFi) software for Windows-based computers, and on iOS mobile devices with the iTEC-700 app installed. TECTITE 4.0 (WiFi) is available for download on TEC’s website, and the iTEC-700 app is available in the Apple App Store.

With the TECTITE 4.0 (WiFi) software users will be free to put their laptop anywhere in the building while conducting air leakage tests.

www.energyconservatory.com

Exactaform, a designer and manufacturer of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tooling for global aerospace and automotive markets, is using a cutting force dynamometer based on a Kistler Instruments piezoelectric multicomponent force link set and amplifier.  The force link set is installed in a bespoke force plate assembly machined in-house from solid stainless steel to exactly meet the needs of the R&D process.

“We chose the Kistler force link set because it allows us to analyse the performance of new designs very accurately with excellent repeatability,” said general manager, Peter Raynor. 

A typical application is the determination of the optimum feed rate for the maxi-flute router with twelve teeth, which achieves maximum performance by reducing the chip load per tooth.  The maxi-flute router is designed to deliver excellent surface finish and dimensional accuracy when machining difficult materials, including fibre reinforced composites (FRC), metal matrix composites (MMC) and aluminium.  Using the Kistler equipped cutting force dynamometer; the design team are able to take full advantage of the twelve tooth design by optimizing the feed rate for each material allowing the user to maximize productivity whilst benefiting from high surface finish and significantly increased tool life.

The outputs of the four Kistler force links are interconnected in a summing box to provide measurement of the three orthogonal forces (Fx, Fy and Fz) plus acquisition of the 6-component force and moment (Fx, Fy, Fz, Mx, My and Mz). The four sensors are mounted with ground isolation to eliminate ground loop problems. The rustproof set is protected against entry of splashing water and coolant and, when used with the special connecting cable, the set satisfies the requirements for IP67 moisture protection.

With its output of around a thousand tools each week, the installation of the Kistler equipped dynamometer allows Exactaform to specify the best feed rate for each new design with total confidence whilst benefitting from a 20% saving in tool design and development costs.

www.kistler.com
 

STEMMER IMAGING and a team of four students from Farnborough Sixth Form College have completed a six month vision project to develop a system for tracking a football’s trajectory during a penalty kick and investigate ways of implementing the technique into a smartphone and tablet app.

The project forms part of the Engineering Education Scheme in England & Scotland, an EDT Programme which links teams of four Year 12 or S5/S6 students and their teacher with local companies to work on real, scientific, engineering and technological problems. At the recent regional ‘Celebration and Assessment Day’ held at BP Sunbury, the panel of judges awarded the Farnborough team 91 marks out of a possible maximum of 104 (the top mark in their group) based on technical skills, communication skills and project management.

Dr. Jon Vickers, technical manager at STEMMER IMAGING UK, co-ordinated the technical aspects of the project. He said: “With the recent announcement by the English Premier League that they will use ‘goal line technology’ in season 2013-14 and the likely uptake of similar technology by FIFA for the 2014 World Cup, football trajectory tracking is highly topical. In this project, the students had to consider the theoretical requirements of capturing 3D data describing the trajectory of the ball and then put that into practice to evaluate the cameras, lenses, software and lighting needed. They also had to take account of effects on the ball such as spin. They then looked at how the techniques could be translated into a game and came up with four possible ideas, before deciding on an app that would allow players to score points by trying to hit different targets in the goal. They were able to produce some very encouraging prototype ideas.”

Mark Williamson, Director – Corporate Market Development at STEMMER IMAGING, said: “The UK engineering industry in general and the vision industry in particular will be best served in the future by engineers whose skills include practical experience and understanding of the needs of business as well as their theoretical knowledge. We are delighted to be able to make a small practical contribution to this process through this project, following on from our previous support of EDT with a cash donation in 2011.

www.etrust.org.uk

www.stemmer-imaging.co.uk

The combination of a hand held computer or phone and the BlueTherm Duo from Electronic Temperature Instruments creates a powerful temperature measuring system. This transmits data to any Android, Windows CE mobile, iOS or Bluetooth wireless enabled device via a secure connection.

Each Duo measures and transmits temperature over the range of -99.9 to 1372 °C with a 0.1 °C resolution. The unit will securely transmit temperature data from one or two probes up to a maximum of twenty metres (line of sight).

The unit incorporates a backlit LCD display, two LED’s red and blue. The flashing blue LED indicates Bluetooth comms transfer, the red LED indicates on/off and power status.

Users can take advantage of a growing library of ‘off-the shelf’ mobile iOS and Android Apps and Windows PC applications, to deploy the solution best suited to their needs. 

Each BlueTherm Duo is supplied with basic App software which allows the user to read two temperatures and provides simple-to-set high and low alarms for both probes. The BlueTherm Pro App allows multiple alarms per probe so a process “profile” can be created. Program alerts and pop-up messages to prompt changes to heat settings, cool-down, etc… The Pro App also logs data from both probes to a graphic chart, and allows the user to store, share and analyse the data to improve or repeat their process next time. In addition, a wide range of standard type K thermocouple probes can be connected to the BlueTherm Duo. www.etiltd.com

In industrial applications – whether medical, automotive, energy, railway technology or robotics – the demands are very similar. This applies in particular to angle measurement, where features like safety, confined installation space, high price sensitivity and maximum accuracy are key requirements.

This can be illustrated by the example of an ambulance stretcher with an electronically controlled lift system. The stretcher can be positioned at almost ground level to allow patients to be placed on easily; and a power-operated lift then raises the stretcher to precisely the height of the ambulance floor. It is, however, important for the stretcher to move to and stop automatically at exactly the correct height to transfer the patient. Precision angle measurement is essential for this, and it is a function that must remain extremely accurate and safe even in hostile environmental conditions. Other important criteria include compact dimensions, the possibility of integral redundancy, convenient adjustment and good value for money.

The solution can be found with the compact yet high-precision Contelec Vert-X 16 industrial rotary encoder. With axial output leads, the rotary encoder satisfies users with 12 to 14-bit resolution, ±0.3% linearity of the measuring range, programmable angles and IP65 ingress protection. It is also optionally available with a range of interfaces, including ratiometric and PWM signal outputs. A digital SPI interface can also be integrated to provide a direct digital output of the absolute angle values in 14-bit resolution, eliminating the need for subsequent A/D signal conversion. This also ensures interference-free data transmission.

Contelec products are available in the UK from Variohm EuroSensor.

New from Honeywell is the battery operated Limitless Wireless Non-Contact Switch, WLS Series, which can actuate based on the presence or absence of magnets installed on a customer’s device – making it suitable for harsh operating environments.

Of benefit, customers can choose either top sensing or side sensing, and the wireless technology helps reduce total installed costs as well as increase flexibility by offering easy reconfiguration in remote or temporary installations.

Suitable for rugged environments, the device’s zinc head and body are phosphate treated and epoxy finished to deliver sealing to IP67 and NEMA 1, 4, 12, 13, and it has all-stainless steel hardware.

www.honeywell.com

Vacuum gauges used on process plants will need to be calibrated regularly, but carrying out this process in-situ is often very difficult. To help, Chell Instruments has developed the portable CalCube vacuum system which enables convenient on-site calibration.

When using vacuum gauges on a process plant, the largest uncertainty is knowing when the process has caused drift or shifts of calibration. Many processes handle vapours, and if any condensation or deposition happens the chances are it will also happen in the vacuum gauge. Many such gauges – Pirani, cold cathose and ion gauges – use thermal or ionisation cross-section measurements to infer the level of vacuum being experienced, and they have filaments, cathodes and other hardware, all of which may be coated with by-products from the process.

Even more rugged gauges – such as capacitance manometers – will be affected by depositions or particulates. This is because any deposition will have mass and the gauge will weigh it, especially if it has a low range and therefore a very thin diaphragm.

As processes move away from their design parameter due to gauge ‘drift’, little about the quality of the process can be inferred from the instrumentation readings. This means diagnosis is down to a skilled operator recognising when a batch of product does not conform – which is too late!

If the process is sensitive to the level of vacuum being achieved, then the cost of losing a batch could be astronomical – many times the cost of maintaining the plant properly in many cases.

Many vacuum gauges lack ruggedness, so it is imperative that plant gauges are regularly calibrated and that the operator has spare, calibrated gauges, ready to substitute as soon as he fears the process may have drifted away from specification.

A portable system

It is very difficult to carry out in-situ vacuum calibrations due to the amount of hardware needed to establish a suitable level of vacuum in a situation where a calibration standard gauge may be compared. Concerns include the possible cross-contamination of the standard by a contaminated sensor under test; and the difficulty accessing many on-plant gauges. It has therefore become tradition for gauges to be removed regularly from the plant and shipped to an external calibration laboratory for re-calibration and, in many cases, adjustment to compensate for the effects of contamination.

Chell has an on-site UKAS calibration service and has developed CalCube, which is both a portable vacuum calibration system with which to offer an on-site service and, for customers who would prefer their own facility, a convenient, tried and tested system.

CalCube complies with BS ISO3567:2011 which specifically covers the design and use of vacuum calibration systems and incorporates an ISO/Dis stainless steel calibration chamber with geometry optimised to ensure that all gauges connected see the same level of vacuum so that comparisons may be made.

On-site calibration

Having its own ISO IEC 17025:2005 accredited UKAS laboratory, Chell is well placed to prepare CalCube for on-site gauge calibrations. The Transfer Standards fitted to CalCube are calibrated in the laboratory both before and after an on-site calibration job so that the confidence level of the calibration is the highest possible.

Over 40 year’s experience of calibrating vacuum gauges have gone into CalCube’s design, which includes such capabilities as calibrating both rising and falling pressures very accurately using a pair of ultra-fine Chell CMF valves. It is constructed within a rugged, wheeled flight-case type enclosure having just a 13A mains plug yet containing dry diaphragm backing and turbomolecular pumps with high vacuum isolation valves.

Fitting easily into almost any estate car, CalCube comes with lifting handles and a removable side panel which is foam lined with cut-outs to hold all the common mating vacuum connector systems. Custom connectors can, of course, be purchased and housed for specific applications.

The choice of vacuum Transfer Standards will be an important decision, which is aided by Chell’s years of experience. These standards, when not fitted to CalCube, are housed in another, matching flight-case, ready for convenient return to its calibration lab for scheduled UKAS calibration.

Chell’s in-house vacuum standards consist of three high-accuracy capacitance manometers having 20 years of continuous calibration history at national Standard level, and these are monitored on a daily basis by a Spinning Rotor Gauge whose ball-flange assembly is also calibrated annually at National Standard level. At the atmospheric pressure end of the scale, the vacuum straight line generated by the capacitance manometers is calibrated against a 32” Schwien Merco-Master manometer, giving the lowest uncertainties in that pressure regime.

Should customers have specific different requirements, however, Chell has the ability to customise CalCube to suit.

Chell Instruments

Sherborne Sensors has been selected by DaVinci Aircraft,  a company that specialises in sourcing obsolete aircraft parts, to supply customised accelerometers for the US military.

The Defence Logistics Agency for the US military approached DaVinci Aircraft to source a number of highly customised accelerometers to extend the life of some of its older military aircraft platforms. DaVinci Aircraft soon discovered that the companies that originally supplied the sensors for these aircrafts have now gone out of business or no longer manufacture the required parts.

Being able to safely extend the life of military platforms such as aircraft to address future threats within the budgetary constraints that exist has become vital and being able to continue to supply the parts for these, even if they are no longer being manufactured is critical.

“Customised products are Sherborne Sensors’ speciality,” said Mike Baker, managing director at Sherborne Sensors.  “We are able to design, develop, test and deliver customised sensor products and systems across a variety of markets and employ a number of experts in mechanical prototyping, electrical circuit design, accessory design and integration, and sensor packaging who are extremely adept at designing robust, accurate and repeatable products, in a cost-effective and timely manner.”

www.sherbornesensors.com

Flow sensors are used by Wessex Water, a regional water and sewage treatment company, for confirmation of wash-water flow to plant and equipment. The thermal dispersion flow switch and the wash-water in the systems used either final effluent from the plant or partially treated water from some other point in the treatment process.

The water content and increase in temperature on the probe, however, was resulting in algae, which affected the thermal dispersion from the probes to the point where they no longer detected flow. Removal from the pipeline would traditionally involve the isolation and draining of the wash-water lines.

As a solution, Trant Construction identified that a non-intrusive, cost-effective and simple to operate sensor that would not be subject to fouling was required. Dave Rich from the company then discovered the Micronics DFS-ll Doppler Flow Switch, which is designed for ‘dirty liquids’, and agreed with the client to trial one unit for pipelines ranging from 32mm to 300mm, dependant on the velocity of flow through the pipe-work.

With the DFS-II, the sensing is non-invasive, working by injecting high frequency sound through the pipe wall into the flowing liquid. Acoustic pulses are continuously reflected back to the sensor and the device measures a frequency shift to calculate flow velocity. It controls flow without any drop in pressure, no sensor fouling and minimal maintenance. Installation takes just a few minutes because there is no need to cut into pipes.

As a result of the trial, Wessex Water is now using the Micronics clamp-on flow switches for most applications, including not only wash-water but also pump discharge monitoring where some non-return valves had proved to be unreliable.

Micronics