Page 28 - MetalForming September 2009

George Keremedjiev has been writing this column for more than 20 years. He regularly consults with metalforming companies worldwide and provides metal- formers with training on the appli- cation and implementation of sen- sors for die protection. For more information on his seminars and consultancies, contact:
Tecknow Education Services, Inc. P.O. Box 6448
Bozeman, MT 59771
phone: 406/587-4751
fax: 406/587-9620 www.mfgadvice.com
E-mail: gk@mfgadvice.com
A Low-Cost Approach to Sensor Application Simulation
METALFORMING ELECTRONICS GEORGE KEREMEDJIEV
During these challenging economic times, it is good to think creatively yet with a scientific-testing mindset. I can sympathize with a toolmaker who must implement a sensor to check for short-feed in a progressive die while giving that toolmaker virtually no money for test equipment and little manageri- al patience with any failures. This is a classic dilemma: How to achieve sensor perfection with no margin for error? Out goes the order, “You will come up with a sensor that will check the posi- tion of this hole, at the end of the feed
to within 0.010 of an inch.”
Two pathways await our toolmaker.
He could check for the strip position directly in a noncontact fashion by detecting the edge of the strip, or a notch or hole with the sensor’s sensing beam. The sensor could be an inductive proximity type or photoelectric, depending on the environment (oil, metal shavings, etc.), space limitations and the choice made by the toolmaker. The other approach is to probe the strip’s position by using a mechanical paddle to monitor the position of the
26 METALFORMING / SEPTEMBER 2009
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