Sensors Magazine articles from September 2001

Sensors Magazine archives from September 2001

Dots Right.(transducer standards)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... One day you'll be able to buy a transducer, snap it in, and use it. Just like that, the way you do now with a lightbulb. And when the time comes, you'll be able to replace it or transfer it to a different piece of equipment--again, without...

Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA).(2001 decline in orders)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... According to a monthly index compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA) (Arlington, VA), the recent decline in orders for electronic components has bottomed out. Approximately 30 electronic component...

Fieldbus Foundation.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The Fieldbus Foundation (Austin, TX), in its mission to deliver an open, interoperable, Ethernet-based fieldbus solution to the global automation market, has registered two linking devices (LDs) for integrating fieldbus segments into the High...

Coreco Imaging.(contract)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Coreco Imaging (Bedford, MA), designer and developer of high-performance imaging hardware and software, has received a $3 million contract for its PC-Series machine vision frame grabbers and software from a supplier of machine vision inspection...

Lion Photonix Technologies.(fund raising)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... As Lion Photonix Technologies BV (Enschede, The Netherlands) completes its first round of fundraising, it is poised to provide MST technology based on integrated optics. Investors include Innofonds, a Dutch venture capitalist, and the...

Capacitive Saw Brake Brings Digital Salvation.(SawStop)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... An extremely clever sensor/actuator operating on changes in capacitance can mean the difference between a nick and a traumatic amputation by a table saw blade. The SawStop is a modular system consisting of a sensor capacitively coupled to the...

Remote Monitoring System Tends U of Delaware Chickens.(Sensaphone SCADA 3000, University of Delaware)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Chickens, which tend to run hot under normal conditions, can become dangerously overheated in summer weather. At the University of Delaware's Research & Education Center in Georgetown, DE, a Sensaphone SCADA 3000 is at work monitoring...

ROBOTICS.(robots.net)(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2001... If you deal with industrial automation, and especially with robotics you might enjoy a trip over to robots.net. This well-laid-out site offers links to articles and news on industrial and home robotics, among other resources, and wins definite...

NIST.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... With the increase in global trade (among other reasons, more people are interested in measurement accuracy and traceability than before. As a result, the nice people at NIST have introduced an online reference on the topic. The site includes a...

Museum of Questionable Medical Devices.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... You know, I'd heard of the Museum of Questionable Medical Devices, but I hadn't realized until recently that the museum had a Web site. And oh, what a site it is. There are examples of the exhibits (with lucid explanations, debunkings, and...

A Self-Calibrating Miniature Hall Effect Solution to Gear Tooth Speed Sensing.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Advances in BiCMOS Hall effect sensor fabrication, circuit design, and packaging are satisfying automotive gear tooth speed sensing requirements. Today's automotive position and speed sensing applications demand high operational air gaps,...

The Importance of Sensing Contrast.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Understanding contrast is key not only to choosing the right sensor but also to increasing the reliability of your sensing system. All photoelectric sensing applications involve differentiating between two received light levels (see Photo...

The Next Step-- Wireless IEEE 1451 Smart Sensor Networks.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The potential market for wireless sensors is almost limitless. Everything from home automation to battlefield coordination could benefit from mature wireless sensor networks. IEEE 1451 is a family of standards that links sensors to users,...

PC-Based Motion Control.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... These systems are easier to program and offer more flexibility and better performance than PLC-based motion systems. Applications can be customized to meet current and future requirements, eliminating the need to reinvest in a new system. ...

Storage Area Networks: Increasing Testing Efficiency by Simplifying Data Sharing.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Thanks to recent advances in data storage driven by the commercial multimedia market, PC-based industrial testing is now much easier. With storage area networks, you can share and analyze your data online, avoiding the bottlenecks caused by...

Adapting Acoustic Monitoring Technology to Detect Bulk Solids Flow.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... The basics of acoustic emission sensors are augmented here by four brief real-world applications. The reliable noninvasive detection of solids flow has many applications in the materials handling industry Downtime caused by blockage or...

The New IRt/c: Real-World Performance Accuracy.(infrared thermometer by Exergen Corp.)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Product Announcement)
September 1, 2001... This infrared thermocouple has some subtle features that give it a significant edge over conventional IR thermometry. Calibration to a theoretical ideal is fine for lab experiments, but in the field you want a sensor that is tuned to...

Proposed Enhancement to the IEEE 1451.2.(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
September 1, 2001... Standard for Smart Transducers It is time to update this breakthrough transducer interface standard to incorporate lessons learned and to accelerate its adoption into general use. Imagine buying a "shrink-wrapped" transducer that can...

Woodsman, Test That Tree!(Sibtec Scientific)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Is that big, branch-shedding beech tree beside your house or barn going to be standing after the next wind- or snowstorm? If it's basically sound, cutting it down would be a shame, but so would having it land in your bedroom on a February...

Count on the French When It Comes to Cheese.(Optigraph, optical analyzing cheese production device)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Cheesemakers might be interested in the Optigraph, an optical analyzer of cheese in the making. The device passes an IR beam through a sampling tube containing milk. A sensor on the other side measures the amount of light absorbed by the milk...

Sensor vs. Transducer Debate Is on the Web.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Once again we have run out of space. Rather than hoping for an October miracle, we are posting the Sensors vs. Transducer debate on our Web site, along with the contents of this issue. You can find and read it all by going to...

Who's Packing Heat?(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... NIST researchers are developing a detector that can be mounted on a vehicle and used to scan members of a crowd for guns, knives, and other weapons concealed under clothing. The single-unit "glint detector" illuminates a subject with a...

QC for Fill Level.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... I am looking for a sensor that can be used to detect under-fill levels in small medicine bottles. Currently our process puts product into the bottles, which then pass by a proximity sensor that can activate a mechanism to remove bottles...

Gas Sensors.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... We are looking for ethylene gas ([C.sub.2][H.sub.4]) sensors or analyzers with good resolution down to 1 ppm . Required range would be 0-2 or 5 ppm max. The application is control of ripening processes in fruit post-collection chambers...

Noncontact Measurement of Parallelism.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... I am searching for a noncontact parallelism measurement device. I have tested an LED displacement sensor, but it does not work on shiny surfaces. I need to measure to [sim]10 microns.

Biofeedback.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... I'm the head of a secondary school. We are interested in simple biofeedback monitors that will enable students to know whether they are learning effectively or not. Monitoring neural alpha and beta wave patterns is what we need.

Displacement Sensors.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... I have an application that requires a 1/2 in. displacement of [sim]3 oz. in 2-3 ms. I am a mechanical engineer, but I have no knowledge of magnetic circuits. My preliminary research into actuators indicates that voice coil is probably the best...

Position Sensors for Hydraulic Cylinders.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... We are looking for position sensors that can be used in hydraulic cylinders. Up to now we found only devices (on magnetostrictive and potentiometer base) that must be integrated in the rod of the cylinder. Because of gun drilling and so forth;...

Magnetic Coating.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... I am searching for a "clear" liquid coating that can be sprayed in minute amounts. The coating needs to have some magnetic properties, be able to stay dry, and permanently remain on a metal surface. We wold like to be able to detect a spot of...

Compact Data logger.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... I need a very small two- or four-channel data logger that can measure DC volts to 30 V or AC volts to 130 V. It must be self-powered and small enough to fit in hand tools. It must be able to store data for one month and function only when the...