Electricity + Control May 2019

SENSORS, SWITCHES + TRANSDUCERS

Calorimetric flow sensor for liquids and gases The SA volumetric flow sensor, available from ifm electronic ZA, operates using the calorimetric measuring principle. Measur- ing elements as well as a heat source are located on the measuring tip. The physical effect that a flowing medium absorbs heat energy and conducts it away is used. The resulting temperature change is an indica- tion of flow. The new SA sensor has been designed to detect and measure flow and tempera- ture even in pipes with large internal diame- ters, up to 400 mm. A serial number on the device enables unambiguous traceability. Switching outputs, analogue signals and IO-Link provide various options to further process the signals. Enquiries: ifm electronic ZA. Tel. +27 (0)12 450 0400, or email: info.za@ifm.com

Radar safety sensor system for plant environments The LBK System, available in South Africa from Prime Automation, is claimed as a world first. The SIL2/Pld radar system, certified for safety-critical applications, is an active protection radar system that monitors dangerous areas around machinery. It performs two safety functions: - Detection function: placing machinery in safe condition when someone enters the dangerous area; - Restart function: inhibiting the restart of machinery if there are operators in the dangerous area. The LBK System is immune to optical disturbances such as smoke, dust, shavings, ma- chining waste and splashes. It has the advantage that it does not require perfect align- ment between sensors. The system can be configured quickly and easily – to set the depth of the warning and danger areas, for example – using the PC application provided. It can detect the presence of people and issue pre-alarms to begin a soft-stop procedure and avoid the sudden stop of machinery. It detects which part of the dangerous area has been entered and different actions can be configured depending on the zone accessed. The LBK System comprises the LBK-C22 control unit and up to six LBK-S01 sen- sors. The Inxpect Safety software application provides for the configuration and moni- toring of the system, including the configuration of sensitivity levels, safety functions, the size of warning and danger areas and the functionality of the controller’s I/O ports. It also provides for generating the configuration report and log download. The maximum depth of the monitored area is 4 m. With six sensors aligned and an inter-sensor distance of 2.5 m, the system can cover an area 15 m wide. It offers three certified sensitivity levels: normal, high and very high.

The normal level, applied to the Detection func- tion, reduces the number of false alarms, filtering out small objects, machine shavings, smoke, water or oil droplets, vapours and other environmental factors. The very high level, applied to the Restart func- tion, makes the system sensitive enough to detect the presence of people and prevent accidental ma- chine restarts as long as they are in the dangerous area. Enquiries: Prime Automation.T. +27 (0)41 819 7746 or email: sales@primeautomation.co.za The LBK radar safety sensor system provides for safety in the area of automated machine tools, for example, and automated robotic arms.

The SA volumetric flow sensor measures flow and temperature in industrial processes.

Electricity + Control

MAY 2019

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