Novotechnik

In this issue:
• Tech Tips - Integrating a touchless linear sensor
• Expanding actuator capabilities
• Designing dancer arm systems

Featured video: The Kitty Hawk Flyer

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See the Kitty Hawk Flyer video
Scaled Up Drone Flies Humans



Sources: https://kittyhawk.aero
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-personal-flying-machines-a-giant-leap-for-mankind-2416181

Backed by Google founder Larry Page, Kitty Hawk is a company making personal flying aircraft. Their prototype was introduced this April and is called the Kitty Hawk Flyer. It’s an all-electric ultralight aircraft that was specifically designed to fly over water. The company states on their website that “you don’t need a pilot’s license and you’ll learn to fly it in minutes” and “it is classified under Part 103 of FAA regulations”. They also state that the “official Flyer will go on sale by the end of 2017.”

The Flyer takes off and lands vertically and has eight rotors for propulsion. Its weight has been reported to be about 220 pounds, hovers at a 15 feet height and can fly at speeds of just under 25 mph.
How to Integrate A Touchless Linear Sensor
Introduction

This paper discusses the basic setup and variants of touchless linear position sensors, the mechanical and electrical interfaces and some of the necessary considerations for a reliable installation on various types of machinery. We focus on magnetostrictive type sensors, however, the statements are valid for a variety of linear position measurement
principles as well.

Non-contacting touchless linear position sensors based on the popular magnetostrictive or inductive principles allow for fast, precise and wear free electronic measurement of machine element position along a linear path. The sensor provides an electrical signal that is proportional to a mechanical position. Analog and digital interfaces are available. The electrical output signal can be used for display purposes or can be used for position feedback in closed control loops for all kinds of electric, pneumatic or hydraulic actuators.

The sensors consist of two parts: the sensor housing forms the non-moving part, usually an elongated aluminum extrusion mounted to a machine or a stainless sensor rod with a sensor head for cylinder applications. The other part is called the position marker and is mounted to the moving part of a machine or e.g. to a piston in a hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder. The measurement principles are non-contacting, saying there are no sliding contacts involved like on potentiometers. The non-contacting sensors can also be touchless, meaning that there is no mechanical contact involved in the measurement setup consisting of the moving marker and the static housing.

Mechanical Interface

Extrusion type linear sensors are mounted to e.g. a machine bed or surface with a minimum of two and up to four metal clamps -dependent on total length of the sensor- for easy linear adjustments. The clamps should be placed evenly along the sensor housing, e.g. 1/3 of the total sensor length from both sides with 2 clamps and 1/4 with 3 clamps. The mounting bolts in the accessory pack usually come with a dry thread locker already applied. If not, the use of a liquid thread locker e.g. Loctite is recommended to secure the mounting bolts.

The position markers come in two basic variants – a hovering version and a guided slider version. The hovering version is recommended in applications with a precise linear guide of the moving machine part. It is a mechanically wear free setup that will not be disturbed by an environment with dust, dirt and liquids around the sensor housing. However, this position marker needs to be mounted in a certain distance range from the sensor and with precise parallel alignment to maintain specified accuracy. With magnetostrictive linear sensors, the distance range between moving marker and static housing depends on the size of the position marker magnet. There are several sizes and shapes available providing coverage from 0.5 to 12 mm distance.

Modern inductive sensors with touchless markers have electronic circuitry and sending and receiving coils inside and no magnets. They typically work with a distance from 0.5 to 4 mm, and come in free-floating marker as well as guided configurations.

Linear movement applications with an off-axis pickup of the mechanical travel or movements that are not strictly linear due to mechanical play usually require a guided position marker. This marker comes with a low friction polymer on the guides which fit into the rails of the aluminum sensor housing and thereby form a precision slide bearing providing the parallel guidance to the sensor housing.

This type of sensor is still a non-contacting, but not a touchless, as the guides are in touch with the housing rails. The marker slides on the rails mostly from both ends of the sensor housing and does not require additional lubrication. A spherical rod end with a female thread connects to a threaded push-rod. Usually, a second spherical rod end is required on the other end of the push-rod to prevent bending stress of the push-rod.

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Designing Dancer Arm Systems

Dancer arms are used to compensate for a variety of dynamically varying applications.

These include:
• Take-Up roll accumulation rate
• Accumulation indexing conveyors/tables
• Out-Of-Round roll accumulation
• Zero-Speed splicing accumulation

Dancer Arm Systems
One implementation of a dancer arm system is to have a position sensor monitoring the angle of the dancer arm as it changes and providing a signal output to a controller that corresponds to the arm position. The controller would use that signal to communicate the degree of brake or tension to be applied to a reel.

In developing a dancer system, some of the questions that need to be answered are as follows. What is the maximum material throughput speed? How much run-time storage does the dancer need to provide? What type of position sensor works best for dancer applications? What type of signal does your application need from the position sensor? Does the control drive get 100% of its reference signal from the dancer output or does the dancer provide a compensation value to the main drive input?

Design considerations include dancer load type and amount as well as its independence from position, motion direction and velocity. Arm length, sensor type and angular range are considerations too.

One example is a manufacturer of wire-enameling machines. Novotechnik's IP 6500 rotary potentiometer is mounted on a dancer arm. The dancer controls the speed of the main drive of the drawing machine as a function of the enameling equipment wire-speed. An increase of the diameter of the coil increases the wire speed. The slack in the wire to be coiled-up then becomes smaller. The IP 6500 detects this variation in the dancer arm position, and the speed of the wire coil is reduced accordingly. Thus the take-up speed of the wire is effectively monitored and regulated constantly.

The main criteria for selecting our IP 6500 are long life and the protection degree IP65, because during the manufacturing process of wire-enameling our customer needs to monitor the operation constantly over a fairly small electrical angle.

If you have a question about position sensors for your specific application, Novotechnik engineers would be glad to speak with you. Contact us at Email Novotechnik info@novotechnik.com or call 800-667-7492.

Please email suggestions for technical subjects you would like to suggest for this newsletter to this link: Newsletter Editor editor@novotechnik.com