SICK Launches New Photoelectric Sensor to Help Reduce Install Costs
October 13, 2022
SICK has announced its new Roller Sensor Bar (RSB) as part of its portfolio of photoelectric sensors. The RSB provides logistics and production markets with a solution to accommodate the increasing variety of packaging shapes and sizes, with the addition of a faster and easier installation experience.
SICK said traditional sensors are mounted above the side frame and require installers to align and teach the sensor to a reflector at the end consumer, leading to higher costs. The RSB can be a way to lower installation costs and package variations to help logistics and production processes run more smoothly. It does this with a spring-loaded end cap, removing the need for tools to teach and align the sensor. The RSB also comes with flexible mounting options to offer easier integration into several conveyor applications. It can also be mounted at the factory, to help reduce the cost of labor.
Housing lengths for the RSB range from 200mm to 1,200 mm, with beam spacing between 50mm to 200 mm to detect different package types and shapes. The sensor can be mounted between rollers or belted sections to detect objects between conveyor sections and in transfer zones.
In addition, the flexibility in number and length between beams allows for customized sensing performance, which reduces blind zones on both sides of the conveyor. SICK said this solution is ideal for precise, edge-to-edge detection of flat or irregularly shaped objects, due to the mounting of the sensor between the rollers looking up at objects on the conveyor.
The RSB uses ambient light technology to increase throughput by reducing false trips due to background objects. IO-Link communications delivers real-time status information to operators to avoid unplanned downtimes and conveyor jams. The sensing range is preconfigured in the factory, removing the risk of the sensor being adjusted in the field.
Mounting brackets are included, and the RSB does not require a reflector due to its energetic sensing principle technology. SICK said the product can also be seamlessly integrated into control cards with multiple connection types, cable lengths and configurable outlets.
For more details on the RSB, visit the SICK website.
