Non-Contact Measurement Techniques and Best Practices

Key to successful measurement is understanding the different sensor technologies that are available and to knowing how best to apply these. As non-contact sensor technologies continue to improve, it can be difficult to keep abreast of the latest innovations and how they can benefit processes or applications. Also, as interfacing technologies have improved, it is now possible to not only use analogue signal processing for measurement, but also digital interfaces such as Ethernet.

The workshops aim to introduce the latest innovations in non-contact measurement and enable engineers to select the most suitable sensor technology for their application. In addition, engineers can find out how to optimise this technology to get the best sensor performance, select the appropriate interface for measurements, and understand the benefits of using Ethernet interfacing.

Attendance at the Technology Workshops is free of charge, as is the lunch. They are aimed at anyone who is involved in the use of sensors and instrumentation for measuring displacement, temperature or profiles. The event on 12 May was attended by 40 delegates from a diverse range of industry sectors, including food and beverage, metal processing, automotive, aerospace, defence, power generation, energy management, FMCG and Formula One.

Non-contact measurement techniques

During the event at Reading, delegates were introduced to the four primary non-contact displacement measurement techniques: eddy current, capacitive, laser triangulation and confocal. The objective was to demonstrate the pros and cons of each measuring method, enabling delegates to select the most suitable sensor technology for their application. There was also a presentation on infrared temperature measurement.

In addition, delegates heard from one of Micro-Epsilon's customers. Andrew Ashton-Smith, the Project Development Manager at Stable Micro Systems Ltd, explained how his company is using Micro-Epsilon's optoNCDT 1700 laser triangulation sensors in its new VolScan Profiler. This special-purpose machine is a benchtop scanner that measures the volume of bread and other bakery products. It provides rapid, precise, three-dimensional digitisation of products so that bakery companies can monitor and control the bread making conditions and ingredient performance.

As well as listening to the presentations, the delegates received practical demonstrations of the various non-contact measurement techniques using Micro-Epsilon sensors.

To register for the next workshop in October 2011, contact Ian Craven at Micro-Epsilon ([email protected] or telephone +44 (0)151 355 6070). Spaces on the Non-Contact Measurement Techniques and Best Practices workshop are limited, so register as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.