CambridgeIC is pleased to announce that TURCK's new Ri Series angle sensors have its resonant inductive position sensing technology inside.
TURCK's Ri Series sensors measure the angle of a target without contact. They are built with robust, sealed enclosures to survive in harsh environments. Typical applications are in wind turbines, solar panel position feedback, vehicle assembly plants and industrial process control.
The sensor element is built using conventional PCB technology. The PCB design is far from conventional, though. Instead of the usual components and interconnects, the PCB has a special conductor pattern designed by CambridgeIC. The pattern defines 3 coils. The excitation coil powers a resonator inside the target. The two sensor coils detect the signals that return from the target. These signals are connected to CambridgeIC's CAM204 integrated circuit. The CAM204 IC is a single chip processor for resonant inductive position sensing technology. It detects signals from the sensor and determines position.
The technology is a high-tech version of the older Resolver, Synchro and RVDT technologies. The PCB replaces expensive and complex stator windings. A coil and capacitor inside the target form a simple electrical resonator which replaces the stator. Using a resonant circuit means large signal levels even at big gaps, so that the sensor can be housed behind a thick plastic housing.
Ri Series sensors do not require an integral bearing to align the target and sensor, because the special sensor and resonator designs are tolerant of misalignment. Eliminating bearings means a more reliable and cost effective system, and means there is no need to seal around a rotating shaft.
Inductive sensing is particularly well suited to use in harsh environments, because it is immune to the effects of oil, water, dirt and other contaminents. And unlike sensors that detect a magnet's angle using Hall Effect or Magnetoresistive sensor elements, the system is tolerant of the magnetic fields experienced near drives, motors and electrical welders.
The CAM204 IC also works with a range of standard linear sensors to CambridgeIC's designs. These are already in use inside TURCK's Li Series sensors, for linear measurements up to 1m.
CambridgeIC's CAM204 chip and PCB sensor designs are available for other applications outside industrially housed sensors. They may be integrated with other electronics inside products, to deliver robust, cost effective position feedback. For additional convenience and cost effectiveness, the CAM204 can process up to 4 sensors, which can be a combination of both linear and rotary.
David Ely, Managing Director and founder of Cambridge IC, comments: "We are delighted with our partnership. The TURCK team has delivered a range of innovative and compelling industrial sensors and are already selling them into diverse applications worldwide."
Oliver Marks, Vice President of the Business Unit Automation Systems at Turck, comments: "We sold magnetostrictive linear position sensors for years and have seen a lot of disadvantages in many industrial applications. We looked for different technologies in the market and investigated different suppliers. We found out that resonant inductive position sensing fits perfect for TURCK due to environmental immunity, against magnetic fields and ferromagnetic materials, and because of its flexibility. CambridgeIC has the best solution and is a team with a long experience in the technology delivering solutions with best performance completely reliable in many applications. That all fits perfectly to TURCK's experience in building industrial automation products. With our know how in IP67 housing technology and knowledge in industrial electronics we can combine all of this to solve many applications in industrial automation, and replace old style technologies like potentiometers or magnetostrictive Sensors."
Friday 14 January 2011