Ensuring a high level of productivity in the manufacturing and processing sectors of industry can be related directly to the selection of appropriate instrumentation and control solutions, says Countapulse Controls MD Gerry Bryant.

He says that, however, with the skills shortage, particularly in this field, concerns have been raised in industry as to how this process can be assured.

He explains that there are avenues available through which companies can obtain the necessary technical assistance, and have access to the requisite level of skill, whether it is in selecting new or replacement specialist sensing systems.

“People tend to equate technical assistance and support services directly with additional cost, but this is not always the case. Countapulse Controls offers technical guidance in the selection of appropriate specialised sensors as part of our overall service package to customers,” Bryant says.

He comments that resources within companies, especially when it comes to sophisticated electronics and sensing equipment, have been dwindling over the past few years. Countapulse Controls identified this trend a number of years ago and implemented a technical hotline manned by product engineers to assist customers.

“It is not just the hot line that is available to customers who need help. Skilled and qualified personnel are on hand to assess a given application and assist in making the most appropriate sensor choice, both from an operational and a cost perspective,” Bryant says.

The selection of the correct sensor is critical in ensuring that manufacturing pro- cesses run at designed efficiencies. With the speed and complexity of these environments, more and more processes are incorpo- rating sophisticated instrumentation.

Bryant says it is the selection and replacement of such equipment that is presenting challenges to unskilled personnel in the workplace.

“It is not only the machinery that is more complex, but also the materials of construction of the products being made that have created challenges of their own. “For example, in the packaging industry, specialised sensors are required to perform functions such as detecting objects on shrink-wrapped pallets.

“Both the Leuze PRK 25B and the Leuze PRK 46B ranges of optoelectronic sensors are suited to challenging operations like those with reflective surfaces, such as shrink wrap,” Bryant points out.

The top of the range Leuze PRK 46B sensor, designated as a power package, offers a particularly high degree of functional reliability. It has a long sensing range of 18 m, as well as extremely high-performance reserves.

This long sensing range makes these devices particularly suitable for applications such as monitoring gaps in high bay warehouses.

Enhanced sensing reliability is ensured as the retroreflective sensors also react in conjunction with small, badly aligned reflectors or even when reflectors are dirty. Typical applications include monitoring on roller conveyors, while the system’s sensoring and signalling reliability makes it suitable for use with depolarising media, such as shrink-wrapped pallets.

Bryant says the rate at which development in sensors in the manufacturing process has taken place has also contributed to making it difficult for nonspecialists in this field to keep up with technology.

Developments in shaft encoders over the last few years have seen a new standard being set in terms of accuracy and performance. He says that a typical example is the Acuro absolute shaft encoders, which offer a viable, future-orientated solution for industrial control engineering and integrated motor feedback applications.

The heart of the Acuro is a sensor unit incorporating a new OptoASIC design. It is designed for long-term operational safety, and incorporates highly integrated motor feedback systems.

The encoder can be used in applications where there are space restrictions, because of its compact design. Single and multiturn versions are accommodated in the same housing, allowing greater flexibility. The encoder can operate in temperatures from –40 °C to 100 °C.

Acuro allows safe communication with all common Fieldbus formats and open interfaces. Point-to-point communication, such as SSI, parallel, as well as the Fieldbus versions, Profibus, DeviceNet, CAN, Canopen, and Interbus, are available.

The new manufacturer-independent BiSS interface is included in each standard SSI encoder.

Bryant adds that it is not always about incorporating new products into the manufacturing process.

“When a machine goes down and an existing piece of instrumentation has to be replaced, this is when we get the most requests for assistance,” he says.

“It is often difficult for customers to source the requisite replacement sensor as, generally, this would have been supplied with the machine from the original-equipment manufacturer and the maintenance personnel may not even be aware of the actual function or requirement of the sensor itself.

“This is where Countapulse Con-trols plays an important role in being able to identify the function of the sensor and assist in the selection of an appropriate replacement,” Bryant says.