Posted to News on 25th Jun 2008, 10:59
Proximity sensors are designed for welding applications
Automated welding fixtures operate under harsh conditions, being subject to frequent and hard physical knocks, weld spatter and severe and frequent heat cycling. In addition, the intense levels of RFI created will cause the majority of inductive sensors to malfunction and, in some cases, change output status. In industries like automotive manufacture, where large numbers of welding cells and fixtures are expected to achieve high levels of reliability to meet production targets, sensors can be a weak link.
It is vital therefore that sensors used in welding applications can survive these arduous conditions. To meet this demand, Contrinex makes a rugged range of weld-immune sensors in which the operating state does not change, even when the sensors are embedded at the heart of a production welding process.
With thick PTFE sensor faces and tough copper-zinc alloy bodies, the Contrinex welding sensors are sealed to IP67, Teflon-coated to withstand weld spatter and are electrically double-insulated to resist electromagnetic interference. The range is supplied in M12, M18, M30 and 40mm x 40mm cubic (C44) formats. They are all PNP with normally-open outputs and are fitted with three-pin industry standard M12 connectors. They are also CE-approved, have a built-in output status LED and are short-circuit, voltage-reversal and induction-overload protected.
Flush-mountable, they have a sensing distance from 3mm with the M12 model up to 15mm with the C44. All sensors in the range have identical operating distances on aluminium, brass and other non-ferrous metals as on steel. This means that when working with alloy components, there is no shortening of sensing distance, enabling sufficient clearance from the target to avoid front face damage, which is the most common form of sensor failure. This is an important feature, as the handling and welding of aluminium as well as other alloy components is now becoming almost as common as steel.
