Keywords
Citation
(1999), "Sensor detects broken tool", Assembly Automation, Vol. 19 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/aa.1999.03319dad.004
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited
Sensor detects broken tool
Keywords Drilling, Sensors
A non-contact sensor detects broken drills in drill bushing applications. The MagicEye, a patented ferrous-object sensor, from A + P Research, Ann Arbor, Michigan, overcomes the limitations of conventional wand or "whisker" tool sensors that cannot touch the drills because it stays inside the bushing at home position.
The new sensor has a sensing distance greater than 0.25in. from the surface of a tool. The sensor can be flush-mounted on a steel plate at the exit side of the drill bushing.
When the tip of a drill exits a drill bushing, the sensor sends a pulse to a controller that measures the interval between the cycle start signal and the sensor output. A broken drill produces a longer time interval, which the controller detects. The sensor is only 0.14in. thick and 0.36in. wide and is encapsulated in a stainless-steel casing, completely sealed and watertight.