Baumer GmbH

Photoelectric and inductive sensors in hygienic design

• Complete solution with sensors and mounting accessories
• EHEDG-certified, Ecolab-approved, FDA-compliant materials
• Unique impermeability concept proTect+
• For applications in the food and splash zones

Particularly for applications in the food and beverage industry Baumer launches photoelectric and inductive sensors in hygienic and washdown design.

The new sensors with their plane, groove-free V4A stainless steel housings as well as the mounting accessories are EHEDG-certified, Ecolab-approved, and the materials are FDA-compliant. Along with the range of EHEDG-certified reflectors and Ecolab-approved cables with protection class IP 69K, Baumer consequently offers a complete solution for position detection in the food zone. For applications in the splash zone Baumer offers adequate sensors with washdown design. These sensors are as resistant against detergents and high-pressure splash water as those in hygienic design, but they are mounted conventionally.

With the specifically developed impermeability concept proTect+ Baumer guarantees a higher sensor performance and life-time. For this purpose the sensors are exposed to continuously changing temperature cycles in addition to the IP 68 and IP 69K impermeability tests.

With this special endurance test an outstanding high process reliability is guaranteed and the maintenance effort is reduced.

A Highlight among the new products is the photoelectric sensor FNDH 14. This SmartReflect background-reflective sensor can use existing stainless steel machine parts as a reflector. Forgoing an additional reflector results in an easier installation and reduced maintenance effort. The inductive sensors on the other hand have a particularly large operating temperature range from -40 to +100 °C. This offers versatile fields of application from the processing of frozen products to areas with CIP processes.

• Multi-reader for text and 1D/2D codes
• Reading and verification of plain text (OCR/OCV)
• No teaching of fonts required
• Comparison with set value possible
• Flexible web interface integrated

With the VeriSens^® ID510 Baumer offers a vision sensor enabling faulty imprints e.g. of best-before dates to be reliably detected and discharged in time. Content as well as readability can be checked.

ID510 enables an early sluice out of misprinted goods – long before the batch leaves the factory or the batch can cause a complete return shipment.

The vision sensor additionally features matrix and barcode reading functions. With this combination  particularly needs of the food and packaging industry are addressed.

The configurable web interface can be set-up in a few minutes and supports the operation via touch screen and manages the user access if needed.

Smart Alternative to Vibrating Fork Level Switches

• Detects the level of liquid, viscous and dry substances
• Unaffected by flow, turbulence, bubbles, foam, and suspended solids
• Short response time (0.2 sec.) enables fast filling processes
• Operation temperature range from -40 up to 115 °C

With the level switch LBFS, Baumer offers a cost-efficient and reliable alternative to widely-used vibration level switches.
The device is able to detect the level of viscous or dry substances as well as liquids and can be mounted in any position in tanks or pipelines. The sensor is unaffected by flow, turbulence, bubbles, foam, and suspended solids. As the sensor head is smooth and very small, even adhesive media do not stick to it. The sensor’s short response time enables fast filling processes as well as an accurate and reliable keeping of levels.

The level switch detects high and low levels in tanks and pipelines. Furthermore, it can be used for overfill protection, dry running protection of pumps and phase separation in oil-water mixtures. There are many fields of applications: drinking water, wastewater, filtration, HVAC, hydraulics, oil and gas, bio energy, wood pellets, flour mills, railway transportation or pump systems.

The sensor is mounted in a compact, very robust, and corrosion-resistant stainless steel housing. It can be installed and sealed easily with a Teflon tape. It can be easily configured on PC via the FlexProgrammer 9701. Due to its fast response time of just 0.2 seconds, the sensor offers reliable level detection even in fast filling processes. The device can be used at a wide operation temperature range from -40 up to 115 °C.

The LBFS is based on the frequency sweep technology whereby a frequency is swept by the transmitter and becomes subject to a phase shift depending on the medium. When in contact with the medium, which has a different dielectric constant (DC) outside the selected DC range, an electronic switch is triggered. The high sensitivity over a large sensing range from DC 1.5 up to more than 100 allows the level detection of all kinds of powders, granulates and liquids. Even difficult substances like polyamide granulate or paper can be detected reliably. Compared to other measuring methods like vibrating forks, conductive ultrasonic or optical sensors, this technology has further important advantages. It has no vibrating parts and is not sensitive to changes based on conductivity, temperature or pressure. Furthermore, the sensor is suitable for all kinds of applications for which a range of different technology devices would have been required.

Level Switch LFFS – configurable with the FlexProgrammer

• For high temperatures up to 200°C (with cooling neck
• PC-configurable via the FlexProgrammer 9701
• Well visible indication when a medium is detected
• Complies FDA and EHEDG demands

With the Level Switch LFFS, Baumer’s product segment Process Instrumentation introduces a new hygienic level switch which is suitable even for high temperatures up to 200°C. It can be easily configured on PC via the FlexProgrammer 9701. A bright blue light on top of the switch shows when a media is detected. The indication can be seen easily even if the sensor is mounted on top of a tank.

The Level Switch LFFS has been developed for hygienic applications, so all wetted parts are made of FDA-approved acid-proof stainless steel or PEEK thermoplastic. The level switch complies with the EHEDG demands and is prepared for the 3A approval which makes it ideal for use in the food and beverage industry. For applications in hazardous areas zone 0, zone 1 and zone 2, the level switch is available in an ATEX version.

Already preset ex works and without any further adjustment, the Level Switch LFFS detects the level of liquids, viscous fluids and even dry media. For particularly difficult media like adhesive substances, the teach-in function enables a manual adjustment of the level to be detected.

The switching status can be chosen as “normally opened” or “normally closed”. The output type can be chosen as PNP, NPN or digital out by the programming unit.

The level switch can be connected to a PC and configured via the FlexProgrammer 9701 enabling a visual fine-adjustment as well as gating out or zooming in on a certain medium, e.g. to separate a medium from a CIP cleaning preparation.

In the standard version, the Level Switch LFFS is designed for permanent process temperatures from -40°C up to +85°C. However, it is suitable for the use in CIP and SIP facilities with short-term temperatures of up to 140°C (max. one hour). With an optional 100mm or 250mm cooling neck, the Level Switch LFFS can even be used at process temperatures of up to 200°C. The cooling necks are designed with sliding connections, so they can serve as an extension, e.g. if the sensor tip has to reach deeper into the tank with viscous media like yoghurt, or if the media has to be reached through a tank insulation.