TORQSENSE
OEM
Rotary Torque Transducers For:
·
Condition
Monitoring
·
Motor
& Machinery Control
·
Automotive
·
Aerospace
·
Viscosity
& Consistency Measurement
SENSOR
TECHNOLOGY LTD of Banbury, announce a new radical technology for measuring
rotary Torque.
Developed
under a DTI Link programme, TORQSENSE Transducers
are the world’s first low cost non-contact rotary torque transducers
designed for OEM applications.
Rotary
torque has always been difficult and expensive to measure, but, by using
existing technology in a novel way, inexpensive transducers can be
produced for situations where monitoring or control of drive mechanisms is
required.
The
patented method uses a surface acoustic wave device used as a frequency
dependent strain gauge and measures the change in resonant frequency
caused by the applied strain in the shaft. The signal is transmitted via
an RF couple from the rotating shaft to a fixed pick-up. By using a
frequency based device, the signal bandwidth is increased, and the problem
of electronic interference common with analogue signals is eliminated.
The
TORQSENSE transducers are
designed to operate direct from a PLC or a PC, removing the need for
conventional instrumentation, and will interface with standard DPM's. They
require minimum length of shaft, have low inertia, no physical contact
between shaft and housing, wide bandwidth, high resolution and accuracy,
and excellent noise immunity. The technology lends itself to design of OEM
transducers for specific customer applications.
Applications
for the technology include automotive, manufacturing machines, and
condition monitoring where knowledge of torque is critical to the
performance of the systems, torque control of tightening procedures, as
well as monitoring of torque during mixing processes where mix consistency
is required.
In
viscosity or extrusion applications the transducer is mounted inline with
the drive shaft, and measures the drive torque required to operate the
mixer or extruder. This
enables measurements to be made of the relative viscosity or consistency
of either small scale laboratory mixes or full scale production
quantities, for example in process control situations where ingredients
are added to the mix until a desired viscosity is achieved.
Monitoring of slurry, chocolate and cement mixers and extrusion
machines are among current applications.
Instrumentation versions will feature enhanced accuracy and resolution to better than one part in a million, and it is envisaged that the technology will replace existing types of rotary torque transducers by providing better performance at a lower price.
For Further Detail Contact
Tony Ingham,
Sensor Technology Ltd, PO Box 36, Banbury, Oxon, OX15 6JB, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1295 730746, Fax: +44 (0)1295 738966,
Email: Info@sensors.co.uk,
Web: www.sensors.co.uk