Transparent-object detection in the food & beverage industry

Further expanding Omron's sensing offering, the E3S-DB represents a new benchmark in industrial sensors for transparent object detection. A high sensing stability makes this new sensor suitable for detecting all kinds of transparent objects found in today's food & beverage packaging processes.

To enable high-precision detection and positioning on conveyors where very small gaps between bottles exist, the E3S-DB is also available in narrow-beam models with a convergent beam that has a focused spot size of just 2mm at a distance of 200mm.

To meet the trend towards the use of thin PET bottles in the beverage industry, E3S-DB sensors apply a technique known as P-Opaquing, which offers increased detection stability through special polarising filters for PET objects. A further advanced feature also automatically compensates for light-level changes caused by ambient conditions, or contamination.

Developed in close conjunction with customers who produce some of the world's leading brands of food and beverage products, the E3S-DB features an optical system that enables sensing with low hysteresis and high dynamic range. This results in outstanding performance. For instance, the E3S-DB is capable of detecting just 3 per cent light-intensity attenuation at a distance of up to 4m.

The advanced optical system of the E3S-DB also increases stability performance by completely cutting off even the smallest amounts of stray light that might interfere with glass bottle detection. Known as the "bottle-lens-effect', this unwanted magnification of light intensity commonly causes disruption of glass-bottle detection on packaging lines that use less stable sensors.

Thanks to Omron's newly developed "Smart Teach' function, setting up the E3S-DB can be achieved both quickly and easily. Smart Teach simultaneously provides seamless setting of the light-intensity threshold and fast teaching all in one action. To achieve the maximum operating stability, all an operator has to do is manually pre-select (using a trimmer switch) the required operational threshold level for the given sensing objects. Then, by simply pushing the "teach' button, the sensor automatically adjusts light emission power and sensitivity according to sensing distance and selected threshold. Information about the operational threshold of the sensor is always clearly visible and the operator can easily copy the setting from one sensor to another. This saves considerable time when setting up multiple sensors in the same production line, or in the case of maintenance.

PC monitoring tool

The E3S-DB's user-friendliness is further enhanced by a handy, time-saving PC monitoring tool. The tool can be used to verify the optimum setting for any application and is a useful support tool for maintenance engineers with respect to fault diagnostics. The PC tool provides instantaneous operation feedback and light attenuation levels, to show clearly the status of the application.

In addition to the new E3S-DB sensor, Omron's broad range of transparent-object sensors for the food & beverage industry also includes:

• Compact sensors for confined spaces
• Sensors with high-grade, stainless-steel housing for frequent wash-down
• M18 sensors for quick mounting
• Sensors with co-axial optics for stable detection independent of sensor orientation
• Sensors with flexible parameter setting by remote amplifiers
• Chemical-proof sensors for long life

For more information about the E3S-DB transparent-object sensor, visit Omron's website at www.industrial.omron.co.uk.