Industrial Sensors

In industrial settings, industrial control systems use sensors to help controllers perform their task and objectives.

True

What examples of measurements are performed by industrial sensors.

Temperature, Pressure, Level, Proximity

Industrial sensors convert changes in mechanical, magnetic, thermal, optical, and chemical variations in the product into electric voltages and currents to be used for display, data analysis and control. T/F

True

Common classifications of sensors are

Contacting, Non-contacting

If the sensor must touch an object to sense it, the sensor is classified as a contacting sensor. Non-contacting sensors can detect the object without touching it physically.

True

An example of a non-contacting temperature sensor is:

IR temperature sensor

Industrial sensors are contained within the field level of an automation system

True

Industrial systems have 3 main levels

Field Level

PLCs are contained within the field level of an automation system

False

Label the device as either a gauge or sensor (Inductive proximity, RTD, Capacitive proximity, Thermocouple, Thermometer, Bourdon Tube).

Inductive proximity: Sensor

RTD: Sensor

Capacitive proximity: Sensor

Thermocouple: Sensor

Thermometer: Gauge

Bourdon Tube: Gauge

Typical things to pay attention to when selecting proximity sensors are:

Translucency of the object, shape and orientation, hardness or density, and speed of the target moving past.

Proximity sensors are a class of sensors that have many different types of detection.

True

In general, industrial sensors are categorized by how they measure.

False

Sensors can sense physical input, such as:

Light, heat, motion, proximity

Proximity sensors detect the presence of an object (it's either there or not there). Distance of the object from the sensor is not considered proximity.

False

Common types of proximity sensors are:

Capacitive, Magnetic, Photoelectric, Inductive

All proximity sensors are non-contacting.

True

All temperature sensors are non-contacting.

False

The following are different types of industrial temperature sensors (Select all that apply):

Thermocouples, RTD

Which temperature device uses two different types of metal to generate a potential difference based on the temperature of the target?

Thermocouple

The following are the material types measured by pressure sensors (Select all that apply):

Steam, Air, Liquid

The following are the material types measured by level sensors (Select all that apply):

Liquid, Granular solids

Another way of classifying industrial sensors is ____ instead of continuous measurement (analog). This is most often used in proximity or level sensing applications.

Discrete

Ultrasonic sensors use hi-frequency ______ to measure distance to the target.

Sound waves

Ultrasonic sensors cannot see translucent objects like glass or plastic bottles.

False

Analog industrial sensors output signal to the PLC from a transmitter. The transmitted signal is either ___ mA or ____ volts.

4-20 mA or 1-5 volts