MassaSonic ultrasonic sensor

Citation

(1999), "MassaSonic ultrasonic sensor", Sensor Review, Vol. 19 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.1999.08719cad.002

MassaSonic ultrasonic sensor

MassaSonic ^TM ultrasonic sensor

Keywords Sensors, Ultrasonic

"Plug and play" programmable smart ultrasonic sensor enables span, zero settings, and switch points to be set without a target.

Announcing the release of the MassaSonic^TM M-5000/220, the first user-programmable smart ultrasonic sensor and control system that marries the state of the art in electroacoustics with microprocessor-based digital signal processing for precision distance measurement (see Plate 2).

Plate 2 MassaSonic^TMM5000 ultrasonic sensor.

The new sensor is manufactured by Massa Products Corp USA, for more than 50 years a recognised leader in the design and manufacture of electroacoustic transducers and systems for use in air and under water. The product is available in Europe from sensing and instrumentation specialist Vydas International Marketing.

The new Smart Ultrasonic Sensor is a self-contained, non-contacting sensing system for measuring and/or controlling position, distance or liquid level in many factory automation or industrial process control applications. What makes an M-5000 stand out over other systems is its extraordinary ease of use, a result of genuinely user-friendly software engineered by sensor professionals, and the ability to set up and calibrate the system without requiring a target.

The first in the MassaSonicTM line of high performance smart sensors, the M-5000/220 resolves 0.25mm and is ideally suited for a broad range of factory automation, robotics and industrial process control applications. All of the M-5000 settings can be fully programmed in the field without requiring a target by means of user-friendly Windows®-compatible PC software. This feature eliminates the mechanical, sealing, and tampering issues inherent in traditional analogue output ultrasonic sensors that require adjustment potentiometers or pushbuttons as well as a target to set span or zero.

Operating from 12 to 28 Volts DC, the M-5000/220 Sensor emits narrow beam ultrasonic pulses, either at a user-set sampling rate or upon external triggering then processes the echo reflected from a target within its measuring range of 100 mm to 1m (4 to 40 inches).

The sensor provides a 0 to 20 mA or 4 to 20 mA DC analogue current loop output and a pair of open-collector-style switch outputs for set-point control that all depend on the distance of the target from the sensor.

The sensor has built in compensation for speed-of-sound changes due to air temperature variations. The M-5000/220's analogue span and zero settings plus two switch set points are all independently programmable by the user without a target via an internal RS-485 data link.

Additional features and functions that can be accessed and programmed over the RS-485 link include: analogue output slope inversion, trigger source, sampling rate, type of output filtering/averaging and number of samples averaged, no-echo timeout and status output control, and various combinations of set-point hysteresis or limit control-point differential adjustments.

These feature-rich functions permit Massa's M-5000/220 Sensor to perform as a versatile stand-alone controller in many applications. Massa's extremely user-friendly software for communicating with and setting up an M-5000 Sensor runs on a P.C. operating under Microsoft, Windows® 3.1, Windows 95®, or Windows 98®.

RS-485 allows multiple devices to be on the same communications network, so Massa's software can address and access up to 32 sensors, one at a time, on a multi-drop loop. For OEMs and Users or Systems Integrators that prefer not to program sensors in the field, sensors can be supplied that have been factory-programmed to a customer's exact specifications, including span, zero, and switch-point settings, for true "plug and play" operation.

Other salient features of the M-5000/220 Smart Ultrasonic Sensor include: rugged 30 mm threaded housing of chemical resistant CPVC, environmental sealing to meet IEC IP 67, operation from -20° to 65°C, reverse polarity protected power connections, and short-circuit protection for all outputs. An LED on the sensor indicates power on, echo presence status, and system errors.

For more information, contact Cliff Wyatt at Vydas. Tel: +44 (0)1428 715822