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Product category: Proximity Sensors
News Release from: Aerco | Subject: Contrinex Series 700
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial Team on 31 May 2002

Novel proximity sensor offers more
distance

Aerco has been appointed as UK distributor for the Contrinex range of inductive and photoelectric proximity switches.

Aerco has been appointed as UK distributor for the Contrinex range of inductive and photoelectric proximity switches and will concentrate its activities on a new, highly innovative range of sensors known as Series 700 Since its foundation in 1972, Swiss company Contrinex has developed a high level of expertise in the development and manufacture of a wide range of inductive and photoelectric proximity switches and position sensors for industrial applications

Always known as an innovative company, Contrinex was the first manufacturer of inductive sensors in the 4mm and M5 sizes that are now established as industry standards.

The company then introduced a 3mm diameter sensor that is still the smallest, self-contained, inductive proximity switch available that contains a built-in amplifier, status LED and protective circuitry.

The Series 700 inductive proximity sensor uses new, patented, technology known as Condet that provides characteristics that are far superior to those of contemporary inductive proximity switches.

The main advantages are a sensing distance that is three times that of conventional products plus it has a single piece, stainless steel housing that is extremely rugged and completely impervious to all types of contamination.

These characteristics completely eradicate fundamental weaknesses of contemporary proximity switches.

Condet operates on ferromagnetic metals as well as nonferrous metals that have a good level of conductivity.

Steel and alloy materials are sensed at the same distance, with the exception of stainless steel to which the system is tuned to give a reduced response.

This is particularly useful in industries such as food and beverage processing because the devices can sense through stainless steel and into containers.

This eliminates the need to mount the sensors in apertures through the vessel walls that are likely to cause contamination problems during cleaning.

The all-steel housing has many advantages over normal sensor configurations where a ferrite and coil are housed inside a plastic cap that is inserted inside a metal body.

These standard sensors can easily be contaminated by corrosive fluids and are prone to damage because of the inherent weakness in the joint between the plastic cap and the metal body.

Many costly failures in industrial equipment are caused by moisture ingress and front face damage to comparatively fragile sensors.

With the Series 700, the sensing distance is typically three times greater and this simplifies many design considerations and means that there can be greater clearance between the sensor and the target.

In addition, the one-piece stainless-steel housing brings new levels of ruggedness and reliability to the industry.

The stainless steel housing is completely sealed against fluids and the sensor face is impervious to all liquids and gases that do not corrode stainless steel.

There is no danger from weld spatter and it will withstand the severest impact even on the detection face.

The extra cost of the Series 700 is easily offset by the drastic reduction in the cost of machine downtime.

The Series 700 is suitable for embeddable and non-embeddable applications in M12, M18 and M30 sizes.

Other sizes will be available shortly.

They are ideally suited for use in food and beverage processing, the packaging, automotive, process control, forestry and agriculture industries, handling systems, special purpose machinery and mechanical tools.

In addition, Contrinex supplies a range of top quality photoelectric proximity switches that set new benchmarks for performance and size.

Also supplied are high-pressure industrial sensors and various types of annular, fork and frame sensors.

Martyn Wheatley, managing director of Contrinex UK, the Pangbourne based UK subsidiary, sees Aerco as a key distributor.

"I have worked with Aerco in the past when I was at Honeywell and I have always been impressed with their enthusiastic and dynamic attitude coupled with a highly professional approach.

The company's continued growth over the past few years in difficult market conditions proves that this is a winning formula.

Our innovative sensors will complement Aerco's other sensing and switch products".

At the Hanover Fair, to demonstrate the strength of the sensing face, a Series 700 sensor was mounted into the head of a hammer and used to drive nails into a piece of wood.

Each time the hammer hit the nail a distinctive bleep of contact was heard.

To ensure the most severe conditions a prize was offered to all visitors who could drive the nail home in three strikes.

This was used virtually nonstop for ten hours a day for eight days and after literally thousands of blows, at the end of the show, although the stainless-steel face inevitably showed signs of battle fatigue the sensor was as good as new.

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