An automobile manufacturer required a sensor able to verify the presence of a grey adhesive pad on a grey metal surface. Environmental conditions in automotive weld shops can adversely affect sensor performance and longevity, and frequent stops in production processes may be required to clean, maintain, and replace damaged or dirty sensors. The challenges included weld splatter which can burn sensor lenses; accumulation of dust and residue from welding fumes on the sensor lens which gradually degrades performance and reliability; and low-profile, low-contrast targets, which can be very difficult to detect consistently. The solution to this problem was the Q4X laser distance sensor, which has a 316L stainless steel housing and an add-on aperture lens kit made of borosilicate glass to protect the sensor and the lens. It detects sub-millimetre changes in distance to verify part presence or positioning, regardless of colour or reflectivity of object and background.
Contact Brandon Topham, RET Automation Controls, Tel 011 453-2468, brandon.topham@retautomation.com
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