Sensors & Transducers


Being sensible with sensors in intralogistics

August 2017 Sensors & Transducers

There has been much debate in the field of intralogistics around whether classic high bay storage devices or self-driven shuttle systems are the future. Gerry Bryant, managing director of Countapulse Controls, says that both technologies have their place and can coexist in the future. “What is significant is that we can offer solutions for both technologies to make processes simpler, quicker and more efficient.”

Countapulse Controls is the official southern Africa distributor of the full range of Leuze sensors, and among its product line-up are a myriad of sensing solutions. The company has been servicing the African continent for more than 40 years and offers customers access to its depth of applications knowledge.

The company also operates a technical advisory hotline, which is available 24/7 to assist customers in the appropriate selection of sensors for given applications and to help with further support to overcome any areas where difficulties may be experienced due to lack of knowhow within an organisation.

Understanding the capabilities

Commenting on products used in the intralogistics fields, Bryant says that there are specific sensing solutions for different areas within a high bay storage facility and it is essential that end users understand the individual capabilities of these before making decisions.

Access guarding is an important area within intralogistics and the Leuze RSL 400 safety laser scanner is capable of accomplishing two tasks simultaneously as this device has two autonomous protective functions.

Offering exceptional performance characteristics, this safety laser scan has a separate connection unit with integrated cable management facilitating uncomplicated mounting. Its large plain text display has an electronic spirit level enabling simple alignment, while its “Sensor Studio” software allows fast configuration with just five mouse clicks.

The robust sensor also allows integrated Ethernet interface for full network connectivity.

Efficient access guarding without muting sensors is easily done using Leuze MLC 530 safety light curtains. These sensors use the interruption of the protective field to enable material transport.

An important task in high bay storage areas is data transmission and the high performance Leuze DDL S 500 data transmission photoelectric sensor allows 100 Mbit/s real-time transmission. This allows the reliable transfer of all types of data to and from the facility.

Bryant explains that optical data transceivers are most appropriate for any application where data needs to be transmitted without cables and importantly without interference. The DDL S 500 enables contact free optical communication in applications where mechanical systems are pushed to their technical limitations. These devices offer additional functionality that simplifies operation, start up and diagnostics.

Other sensors that are popular in the field of intralogistics are retro-reflective photoelectric sensors. Sometimes known as diffuse sensors, these devices perform detection tasks with light in a wide range of forms and are suited to all conceivable shuttle applications.

“Access to technical information and assistance is essential to ensure that sensing solutions are the best fit for an application, and we encourage companies to make contact with us sooner rather than later so we can assist them to make their operation simpler and more efficient as well as safer,” concludes Bryant.

For more information contact Gerry Bryant, Countapulse Controls, +27 (0)11 615 7556, bryant@countapulse.co.za, www.countapulse.co.za





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