Today's Automation News Headlines from Automation.com

October 9, 2011 – Banner Engineering introduces the L-GAGE LH Series laser sensor, a non-contact measurement sensor designed to provide accurate and stable measurements. The LH Series is used for precision displacement and thickness measurements, developed to solve demanding measurement and quality control inspections on materials such as wood, metal, rubber, ceramic and plastic parts. Providing high-precision capabilities, the robust, self-contained laser displacement sensor features a 1024 pixel CMOS linear imager that can achieve up to a 1 micron resolution under nominal conditions.

The new LH features target displacement or thickness measurement with high resolution 4-20 mA or RS-485 serial communication outputs. Two sensors can be configured to self-synchronize for thickness measurements—performing the thickness calculation within the sensors—requiring no external controller for operation. The LH can be used in a network of up to 32 sensors, providing the capability to perform multiple, simultaneous inspections. Plus, with a narrow laser spot, the LH easily aligns to the smallest of targets.

The LH sensor comes equipped with an intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI), which guides the user through setup and performance monitoring when adjusting the sensor parameters. After the LH is installed, the GUI provides data acquisition tools to graphically display the current measurements. Parameters such as analog output scaling, averaging, sample size and other advanced features can all be set within the GUI. All data is displayed in real time and can be saved to a log file, which is useful for troubleshooting the installation.

“The LH Series sensors is unique from traditional laser sensors due to the linear imager and its ability to be used on a wider variety of materials, reflective surfaces and colors,” said Dean Tyo, Chief Engineer for Vision, Measurement, and Instrumentation at Banner. “Therefore, the LH allows operators to provide continuous non-contact measurements in a greater number of industries and applications that involve moving processes, stamped and machined parts, and soft or sticky parts.”

About Banner. Banner Engineering is a world leading manufacturer of photoelectric and ultrasonic sensors, indicator lights, vision sensors and vision lighting, electronic machine guarding systems, wireless networks, fiber optic assemblies and precision measurement systems.