Shorrock Automation, which recently exhibited at the Electra Mining Exhibition, held at Nasrec between 11 and 15 September, ran a competition on its stand to promote the new award-winning Efector PMD distance measurement device. The device is a compact sensor, housed in a die cast zinc enclosure, and with dimensions of only 42 x 42 x 52 mm, the Efector PMD has the capacities of a measurement system, at the price of a standard sensor.
The sensing technology is based on the 'time-of-flight' principle. The time it takes the transmitted light from the sensor to travel to the object and back to the sensor is directly proportional to the distance travelled. The sensor incorporates a smart-pixel receiver element that is a 'system-on-chip' design. Both sensor element and signal evaluation electronics are integrated on a 0,25 mm square CMOS silicon chip called a photonic mixer device (PMD). The integration of PMD technology on a system-on-chip has enabled IFM Electronic to produce a distance measurement sensor in a housing that is smaller and less expensive than traditional systems.
With a measuring range of up to 10 m, the sensor has two switching outputs, one of which can be configured as an analog output. Efector PMD features a visible laser light spot, a scaleable measuring range, and LEDs indicate power on and switching status. With a programmable NO/NC operation, the sensor has a four-digit alphanumeric display.
IFM's distance measurement sensor suits a broad range of applications. It can operate as a long-range background suppression sensor, and its laser light source enables the sensor to accurately detect small objects at long distances.
The competition, held at Electra Mining, entailed that the visitor had to SMS a command to a predefined number which would then be received by an eWON device (an industrial router with the capability to allow an engineer to remotely access his PLC or receive error messages). Several bottles were placed on a moving conveyor on Shorrock Automation's stand.
Bottles on the conveyor were detected by means of the PMD and the visitor that could stop a bottle closest to a predefined distance won a Ryobi cordless drill. The eWON device identifies the sent SMS and reacts by sending the PLC the command to stop the conveyor's motor.
The competition winners for the five days were Patrich Sibanela, Andre de Jager, Ingrid le Batie, Johan Rossouw and Coenie Buys.
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