sensors & systems - Industrial Technology Magazine

SENSORS & SYSTEMS
New Products
Meeting industry demands
for higher fibre port counts
New versions of GarrettCom
Europe’s 6K32 Ethernet switches
double the fibre port count
GarrettCom Europe has introduced
enhanced versions of its popular
6K32 series managed Ethernet
switches, doubling the number of
standard fibre and gigabit fibre ports, and
offering the choice of either fan or
convection cooling. User configurable with
a maximum of 32 ports, the 6K32F and
6K32FC can provide up to 16 standard
fibre ports or eight gigabit ports to meet
the growing data and bandwidth
requirements of demanding industrial
applications.
Housed in a rack-mounted, space
efficient package, the 6K32F is a fan
cooled managed Ethernet switch targeted
at standard
industrial
environments. The 6K32FC has the same
form factor, but is convection cooled to
meet the needs of environments where
the presence of dust and dirt preclude the
use of fan cooling, or sensitive
applications where EMIl issues mean fancooled
products could only be used with
additional precautions.
Employing a patent-pending static
thermal design, the 6K32FC offers an
extraordinarily high energy efficiency, with
techniques such as internal heat barriers,
multiple heat sinks throughout the unit,
extra cooling space and premium high
efficiency components all combining to
optimise the cooling efficiency.
Both the 6K32F and 6K32FC deliver
high fibre capacity to demanding
industrial applications where fibre
networking is becoming the cabling media
of choice, due to its noise immunity,
transmission distance, security, bandwidth
and overall reliability.
MORE INFORMATION:
Enter D524 on the enquiry card, or visit ‘latest issue
stories’ at www.industrialtechnology.co.uk for
further details from GarrettCom Europe
High-spec
pressure
sensor with
CANbus
Sensor-Technik UK is
introducing a high
specification pressure
sensor primarily designed for offhighway
vehicles. The M01-CAN
has the exceptional shock and
vibration resistance required by
agricultural and construction
machinery, and , comes in an all
stainless steel housing to IP65.
Depending on the electrical
connection, IP69K is optional.
Sensor-Technik UK expects that
the specification will also be of
interest in many industrial
applications.
The M01-CAN interface is fully
CAN-Open (SAE J1939)
compliant, and so the device will
Sense pressure
at up to 400°C
The new Type 6045A piezoelectric
M8 pressure sensor from Kistler is
designed specifically for both
thermodynamic investigations and knock
measurements in engine development
applications. Suitable for use at high
operating temperatures up to 400°C, the
6045A does not require cooling and is
directly interchangeable with the watercooled
Type 6041A sensor.
The PiezoStar crystal provides very
high sensitivity of 45 pC/bar, excellent
thermodynamic characteristics, low
thermal shock and reduced sensitivity
shift. The pressure range is 0 to 250 bar
and the sensor can withstand 300 bar
overload. Being uncooled, the Type
6045A is ideally suited to on-road engine
mapping investigations.
MORE INFORMATION:
Enter D526 on the enquiry card, or visit ‘latest issue
stories’ at www.industrialtechnology.co.uk for
further details from Kistler
Torque sensing is key
as Lotus hybrid blooms
The torque-current characteristics of
a combined motor-generator
developed for a Lotus-based hybrid
car have been comprehensively mapped
by a TorqSense digital torque sensor.
Specialist electromagnetic design
company Elektro Magnetix (EMX) of
Brighton developed and tested the motorgenerator
for Lotus Engineering’s EVE
(Efficient, Viable, Environmental) Hybrid.
This is a technology demonstrator that is
showcasing many of the medium term
solutions that will be used to reduce
vehicle emissions.
Jonathan Bremner of EMX explains
that the mapping was essential, but could
not be done in-house. “We are a design
house, so tend to sub-contact testing to
other organisations. With this project we
needed to plot out the full range of
performance, but had only a tight time
window to do all the work.”
So EMX worked with a testhouse to
design a simple yet effective test rig. It
was not long before the specialist
engineers had settled on using a
TorqSense torque sensor from Sensor
Technology as they could design a rig
around it very easily, and then it was very
quick and simple to use.
Unlike other torque sensors TorqSense
is mechanically simple with its sensors
fixed to the shaft and a rotating RF
antenna used to allow non-contact
coupling with its digital electronics
offering immunity from magnetic fields, so
there is no need for complicated and
delicate slip rings or large transformer
assemblies to obtain signals.
Lotus Engineering believes that hybrid
technology is a key route for CO2
reduction. In the medium term it may
remain more viable to integrate hybrid
technologies into existing model ranges
than to develop completely new vehicles.
MORE INFORMATION:
Enter D525 on the enquiry card, or visit ‘latest issue
stories’ at www.industrialtechnology.co.uk for
further details from Sensor Technology
slot directly into modern CANbus
communication systems without
any modification. The sensor is
available in pressure ranges from
0-25bar to 0-800bar as standard,
but other ranges are available at
no extra cost, as well as OEM
versions.
Operating temperature range is
–40°C to +125°C, with a
maximum media temperature of
+150°C. Accuracy is better than
1% between 0°C and 80°C. All
wetted parts are stainless, and
thanks to the welded thin film
measuring element, the unit has a
broad media compatibility.
Morten Moller at Sensor-
Technik UK says that the M01-
CAN is likely to find some
challenging uses. “However,” he
adds, “as you’re dealing direct
with a leading-edge European
manufacturer here, rather than
buying a rebadged take-it-orleave-it
sensor of indeterminate
origin, you can be sure that you'll
get exactly the right sensor for
your particular application.”
MORE INFORMATION:
Enter D528 on the enquiry card, or visit
www.industrialtechnology.co.uk for
further details from Sensor-Technik
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INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY • May 2008