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HELPING YOU #MAKE SENSE OF SENSORS
I
EXAMPLE APPLICATIONS
TO ILLUSTRATE THE WIDE-VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS SOLVED USING
CONTRINEX SENSORS, WE HAVE POSTED A LARGE SELECTION OF
EXAMPLE APPLICATIONS WHICH CAN BE SEEN BY CLICKING ON AN IMAGE.
BELOW ARE A SELECTION OF SOME OF THESE APPLICATIONS:
INDUSTRY LEADING CONTRAST & COLOUR SENSORS - EXCELLENCE IN DETECTING THE DIFFERENCE
CUSTOMER VALUES
RELIABLE, REPEATABLE IN-LINE DETECTION ON A NON-
CONTACT BASIS
REAL-TIME REJECTION OF UNIDENTIFIED OR UNTRACEABLE
PRODUCTS
REMOTE SET-UP VIA IO-LINK REDUCES NEED FOR MANUAL
INTERVENTION
PRODUCT ADVANTAGES
OPERATING RANGE UP TO 12MM WITH THREE-COLOUR RGB
EMISSION TECHNOLOGY
AUTOMATIC SELECTION OF BEST EMISSION COLOUR
IO-LINK CONNECTIVITY AVAILABLE AT NO EXTRA COST
HIGH SWITCHING FREQUENCY UP TO 10KHZ
VERSATILE INDUSTRY-STANDARD PUSH-PULL 4-WIRE OUTPUT
HIGH TOLERANCE TO OBJECT POSITION VARIATION AROUND
12MM
During high-volume production of confectionery, sealed
cartons of bagged candy travel by conveyor to a labelling
station. Contrinex’s versatile and high-performance, RGB light-
based photoelectric contrast sensor checks the label’s
alignment and confirms the presence of print registration
markings. If a label is blank, illegible or wrongly positioned, the
carton is diverted to a holding area for investigation.
CUSTOMER APPLICATION
In the food-processing industry, packaged consumer products
require labelling – both for identification and for batch control
– before final packing. During confectionery production, sealed
cartons of bagged candy travel by conveyor from carton-
taping stations to a label printer-applicator, before passing to
the final packing area.
The printer-applicator, which is located at one side of the
conveyor, produces a continuous feed of printed labels from
roll-stock. As each carton passes the applicator head, the label-
stock advances, peeling a single label and applying it to the
side of the carton.
From time to time, misfeeds or malfunctions occur within the
printer-applicator, which consequently applies labels that are
either blank, illegible or wrongly positioned. Failure to detect
these errors results in unidentified or untraceable products
arriving at subsequent operations or, critically, at the
customer’s premises.
A highly reliable non-contact sensor system is needed. The
sensor must detect the alignment of labels and confirm the
presence of print markings as cartons leave the printer-
applicator, rejecting any defective cartons.
CUSTOMER SOLUTION
A photoelectric contrast sensor from the Contrinex Cubic
Small range is ideal for this application. This versatile device
incorporates a single-lens autocollimator, delivering a narrow
optical beam that allows detection of very small features. The
choice of red, green or blue LED light, auto-selectable during
set-up, ensures optimal contrast resolution.
Immediately after the applicator, a single sensor is mounted
beside the conveyor; adjustable mounting brackets makes for
easy positioning. As the label on each carton passes the
detection point, changes in contrast trigger the sensor. The
transition from carton surface to label body identifies the
position and alignment of the label itself, while the well-
defined contrast between printed content and the label body
ensures reliable detection of even the smallest print marks.
If the label is wrongly aligned or the print markings missing,
the sensor triggers a reject mechanism that diverts the carton
to a holding area for investigation. An operating range up to
12mm allows adequate clearance between sensor and target,
while the compact 40mm x 50mm x 15mm PBTB plastic
housing is both mechanically robust and small enough to
accommodate any space constraints.
Set-up is accomplished either using a three-button keypad on
the sensor, or via IO-Link, a standardized point-to-point serial
connection protocol. Photoelectric contrast sensors are
available with industry-standard push-pull 4-wire output.
Connection to the customer’s control system is via a PVC-
sheathed cable with the choice of an integral M12 connector or
a hermetically sealed entry.
CLICK ON AN IMAGE TO VIEW THE BROCHURE OR VIDEO, READ
AN APPLICATION EXAMPLE BELOW, CLICK HERE TO VIEW THIS
SENSOR ON CONTRINEX’S WEBSITE, OR CALL US TO HELP GUIDE
YOU THROUGH SELECTION, ANSWER QUESTIONS, OR TO HELP
YOU #MAKESENSEOFSENSORS:
APPLICATION - CONTRAST SENSOR ENSURES
LABEL POSITIONING IS ‘SWEET’
CONTRINEX’S COLOUR AND CONTRAST SENSORS OFFER INDUSTRY-LEADING PERFORMANCE
WHICH IS TRUSTED ACROSS THE PRINT LABELLING AND PACKAGING INDUSTRIES.
COLOUR & CONTRAST SENSORS
Contrinex’s Colour photoelectric sensors use energetic-diffuse sensing to detect variations in target color, to enable colour sorting
or colour control. Contrinex colour sensors feature five selectable tolerance levels for each of three separate outputs, which each
can be set using a “teach-in” function to recognise or ignore even the smallest variations of colour.
The Colour and Contrast sensors use the same rugged PBTP housing (40 mm x 50 mm x 15 mm) with IP67 enclosure rating and are
available in cable or adjustable (0°, 45° or 90°) connector versions.
Contrinex’s Contrast sensors offer exceptional performance for detecting print marks in printing, labelling and packaging
applications. Using a narrowly focused light beam and RGB (Red-Green-Blue light) emission technology, the contrast sensor
automatically selects the best emission colour during the teach-in procedure.
PRODUCT ADVANTAGES
DETECTION OF VERY SMALL PRINT MARKS THANKS TO A
NARROW, COLLIMATED LIGHT SPOT
OPTIMUM CONTRAST ENHANCEMENT THROUGH AUTOMATIC
SELECTION OF EMITTER DIODES IN DIFFERENT COLOURS
DETECTION OF THE SMALLEST DIFFERENCES IN CONTRAST
DUE TO HIGH CONTRAST RESOLUTION
TOLERANCE SELECTION AND EASY TEACH-IN OVER IO-LINK
HIGH SWITCHING FREQUENCY UP TO 10KHZ
VERSATILE INDUSTRY-STANDARD PUSH-PULL 4-WIRE OUTPUT
HIGH TOLERANCE TO OBJECT POSITION VARIATION AROUND
12MM
PRODUCT ADVANTAGES - PACKAGING MACHINES
FOR THE PRECISE RECOGNITION OF PRINT MARKS ON PACKAGING
FILM, WITHOUT SACRIFICING PROCESSING SPEED, A HIGHLY
ACCURATE, FAST AND RELIABLE SENSOR IS REQUIRED.
THE NEW CONTRAST SENSOR FROM CONTRINEX OFFERS ALL THIS
IN A VARIETY OF CONFIGURATIONS.
OPTIMIZED DETECTION OF PRINT MARKS
EASY TEACH-IN AND INSTALLATION
FULL REMOTE CONTROL WITH IO-LINK
PRODUCT ADVANTAGES- PRINTING & LABELLING MACHINES
IN PRINTING MACHINES, PRECISE POSITION SENSING IS REQUIRED,
EVEN WITH DIFFERENT PRINT COLOURS.
THE NEW CONTRINEX CONTRAST SENSOR ALLOWS ACCURATE
DETECTION THANKS TO TOLERANCE ADJUSTMENT. THIS ENSURES
THAT THE SENSOR ONLY RESPONDS TO PRINT MARKS AND
IGNORES OTHER COLOURED OBJECTS.
HIGH PRECISION DETECTION
ADJUSTABLE DETECTION TOLERANCE
SHORT CHANGEOVER TIMES DUE TO IO-LINK
Excellent contrast resolution, a high switching frequency (up
to 10 kHz) and five tolerance levels ensure accurate detection
and positioning, even when contrast differences are minimal.
The integral IO-Link interface can be used to reduce
changeover times through remote teach-in and
parameterisation. Other control functions, including
monitoring, diagnosis and switching timer adjustment are also
available using IO-Link.
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WELCOME TO PLUS AUTOMATION LTD - EXPERTS IN SENSORS, WE WILL WORK TO HELP YOU
SOLVE YOUR APPLICATIONS, IMPROVE MACHINE PERFORMANCE & RELIABILITY AND REDUCE COSTS
USING CONTRINEX’S EXCEPTIONAL SENSORS - LET US HELP YOU #MAKE SENSE OF SENSORS