Innovations in sensors at MachineBuilding.South

A recent addition to range of inductive linear encoders from HEIDENHAIN (Stand 19) is the ILC 3019, designed to empower productivity in modern automation. With its compact scanning head, wide mounting tolerances, and robust inductive scanning technology, the new ILC handles contamination, vibration, and strong magnetic interference without breaking a sweat.

Whether you're building linear motors, conveyor systems, robot axes, or medical equipment, the ILC linear encoder delivers precise position feedback through the trusted EnDat 2.2 interface. And it meets the requirements of different environments: the ILC's scanning head is available in an IP40 variant for medical use cases and an IP67 variant for tough industrial applications.

Another interesting encoder comes from RLS (Stand 110), whose AksIM-4 Dual Concentric encoder is very much aimed at robotic systems where the demand for highly integrated motion feedback continues to grow. The AksIM-4 is an ultra-thin absolute rotary magnetic encoder that provides simultaneous motor and reducer position feedback.

The non-contact magnetic encoder comprises one high-performance readhead with two sensors and two concentric rings within a single, space-saving architecture. This two-in-one design helps reduce component count, simplify cabling and optimise layouts where installation space is limited.

IO-Link sensors

Baumer (Stand 113) is emphasising the growing importance of IO-Link, and boasts a huge range of IO-Link sensor products enabling you to achieve unmatched speed, accuracy and usability in your manufacturing application.

Highlights of Baumer's IO-Link sensor portfolio includes the 50 Series Process Sensors, which the company says offer best-in-class precision, measuring range and response time. Although a compact design, they feature an-easy-to-view large touch colour display within a robust, sealed stainless steel housing, along with easy and standardised operation across the entire 50 series. When a processing application demands the need to measure pressure precisely and reliably across different media, the 50 series are ideal for demanding hygienic and other similar applications.

Sensing applications requiring precise position control, quality inspection and thickness measurement performed to the highest levels of precision and repeatability, is where Baumer's OM60 Laser Distance Sensors excel. Typical applications are in the automotive, electronics and robotics industries where the benefits of OM60 sensors include the ability to measure distances up to 1000mm, linearity deviation up to 0.03 % MR, measurement frequency up to 3.3 kHz, along with a digital interface such as IO-Link or RS485.

Remember, too, that a key feature of MachineBuilding.South is its hands-on IO-Link training sessions, delivered by Tim Beech, Managing Director of TGN Project Services. Using live training rigs and real hardware, the sessions will provide engineers with a practical introduction to:

• IO-Link integration and device parameterisation
• Implementing IO-Link with PROFINET
• Migration routes and best practice
• Real-world configuration and deployment

The aim is to give delegates a clearer understanding of how IO-Link can be implemented within modern automation systems and machine applications.

Limit switch technology

For its part, Telemecanique Sensors (Stand 13) has recently brought its newest limit switch addition to the market, the XCMH. Hard wearing, waterproof and easy to install, the XCMH features IP66 and IP67 water resistance, combined with enhanced durability and robustness. A reduced cable diameter, from 6.2mm on the XCMN, to 4.2mm on the XCMH ensures easy installation, with increased cable flexibility, plus there is the choice of a fixed lateral or axial cable to ensure even confined space installations are simple. The cable composition has also decreased from 4x0.75mm2 to 4x0.34mm2, meaning a reduction in copper content and a reduced carbon footprint. Additionally, there is full consistency across the Telemecanique Sensors' limit switch range, with compatible heads.

An interesting area of sensing is RFID. High frequency RFID has long been established as a reliable technology for guided industrial identification tasks. With the IQH3 and IQT3 HF RFID read/write devices, Pepperl+Fuchs (Stand 75) now takes this proven technology a decisive step further - combining the advantages of HF RFID with an extended, adjustable read range that it says is unique in this class.

Based on 13.56 MHz high frequency RFID technology in accordance with ISO 15693, the new devices are ideally suited for applications in which objects or RFID tags are uniformly positioned and aligned. Typical use cases include automotive production, battery assembly and automated material handling, where reliable, repeatable identification is essential.