Universal sensor
July 1st 2005

Ian Clay reports for IP&E on the UK launch of the Uprox+, a revolutionary new inductive proximity sensor from Turck Banner Recently launched in the UK by Turck Banner, Uprox+ (pronounced U-prox plus) claims to be the first technological leap in inductive proximity sensors since the 1960s.

The inductive proximity sensor market Based around the conventional ferrite core and wound coil combination inductive sensors have become a commodity product with little difference in product quality and functionality. The development of application specific or ‘special’ products such as high temperature sensors or weld field immune sensors can lead to problems. The Ford plant in Cologne for example had 400 different types of inductive proximity sensor. Obviously keeping up with such a diverse range of different products causes problems in terms of stocking, maintenance and training.

At the UK launch of the Uprox+, Ian Manning, marketing manager of Turck Banner told an apocryphal tale of how companies, when faced with a dizzying array of sensors hold official and ‘unofficial’ stock. This stock is held in the draws of maintenance people or production managers, all who do not want their process to be affected by a long lead time to replace a ‘special’ product. Obviously not the way for a business to run a streamlined operation. The target for the Uprox+ is to reduce costs for these OEMs and end users by producing a ‘universal’ sensor.

The core component of the new Uprox+ is a flexible, patented multi-coil system that replaces the conventional wound coil. This concept offers extraordinary high switching distances, some 250% higher than that of conventional inductive sensors. In addition to mild steel this increased performance also applies to target materials such as iron, stainless steel, copper, aluminium and brass, all can be detected with the highest precision without any reduction in sensing distance. Another advantage with Uprox+ is an increased switching speed, making them a suitablel choice for applications such as rotational speed monitoring.

As Uprox+ sensors do not have a ferrite core they are not susceptible to the strong magnetic fields that occur in the electric welding processes. This inherent protection makes them well suited to the automotive industry, replacing special weld-field immune sensors on vehicle assembly lines. Uprox+ affords a high level of EMC protection as they fulfil the present standard EN50082-1 and also exceed the strict requirements of EN 61000-4-6 that will become an integral part of the proximity switch standard from 2006 onwards.

Uprox+ is available in flush-mountable and non-flush types in all popular housing styles including M12, M18 and M30 threaded barrels and 40mm and 80mm block style. The protection rating is IP68.

Damage to sensors through poorly adjusted targets or varying mechanical tolerances are a common occurrence in many industries but here too the design of Uprox+ can save downtime. When mounting Uprox+ sensors, only small metal free zones have to be observed.

With flush mountable barrel types, additional mechanical protection is afforded by recessed mounting by half a turn of the thread. Non-flush sensors provide flexibility due to the integrated pre-damping protection function. The metal free mounting zone can be significantly reduced compared to conventional sensors with a ferrite core.

Non-flush sensors may be embedded in metal up to the upper edge of the thread with no more than a 20% reduction in switching distance.

As well as the technical advantages there are other major benefits. Turck now offers a reduction in the number of types of inductive proximity sensors without sacrificing performance and obviating the need for costly specials. Indeed, the average cost price can be reduced because of bulk discounts on ‘universal’ sensors. Training costs and set up times can also be reduced by using fewer variants and the high availability of spares means that ‘hidden’ stock is no longer an issue.

These benefits are always great in theory but the Uprox+ has proved itself in practice also. Looking back at the case of Ford, Cologne – which previously had 400 different types of inductive proximity sensor – the plant is now, with the introduction of the Uprox+ range down to 12 different variants and plans to reduce this to six in time. This shows enormous rationalisation that has positive impacts across many different areas of the business from purchasing (a saving of 30%) to stores and stocking to maintenance.

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