Tilt Angle Measurement
Tilt angle measurement is required in a wide variety of industrial sectors, but also in the monitoring of structures and in the special vehicle sector. There are many customers who need to precisely level equipment or monitor a work platform or equipment - typical applications for tilt measurement. The applications are very different. Therefore, one cannot say from the outset which sensor is appropriate, but must look at each application closely: What are the requirements and goals of the customer in terms of accuracy, resolution and environmental conditions? Which interfaces are necessary for any further signal evaluation required? Only then can one decide which measuring principle and which sensor can deliver the desired results.
We offer different inclination angle sensors. In capacitive-type sensors (e.g., the AccuStar type), a dielectric fluid is sandwiched between two special-geometry capacitor plates. An inclination causes a capacitance change that is measured and evaluated. The user has a proportional and linear output signal available.
High Precision Servo Inclinometers
The high precision servo inclinometers (e.g., AILSO type) operate according to a method which some may still know about live band tension measuring instruments. You have a rotatably mounted coil in a magnetic field. At this there is a pendulum with a mass. When the sensor is tilted, the pendulum tries to follow the gravitational field and align itself. Controlled by a position sensor, however, a current flows through the coil, which holds the pendulum in a defined position. This current signal is converted into a voltage signal and then corresponds to the sine function of the tilt angle.
In the range of small +/- 10 degrees tilt, the sine function can be considered as linear. The sine function must be taken into account for applications that require the maximum possible accuracy, especially for measuring ranges greater than +/- 10 degrees. The measured value calculation can be done via a linearization with the aid of cleverly selected interpolation points; However, the highest accuracy can only be achieved by a trigonometric calculation. The possible measuring ranges of the inclinometers are between +/- 1 degree and +/- 90 degrees. In practice, however, the maximum possible measuring range of +/- 90 degrees should not be used as much as possible, since the slope of the sine function in this range is very low and thus only a small signal change is obtained.
For this reason, you should use the inclinometer, depending on the application and accuracy requirement, only up to a maximum of about 75 or 80 degrees. The standard version requires a regulated, bipolar supply voltage (+/- 15 volts DC) and provides an output signal of +/- 5 volts proportional to the sine wave. There is also a variant for a supply voltage of 24 Volt DC with a built-in 4 ... 20 mA amplifier. If longer cable lengths are required, it makes sense to use the same version with built-in amplifier. The resolution of the inclinometer is up to an arcsecond and better.
Thus, these transducers are ideally suited for applications in all areas requiring high-precision inclination measurement. Examples are geophysics, tunneling, stabilization systems in shipbuilding and the alignment of antenna systems. For the linearization of the sine values, we have developed our own device with which the user can also switch the physical units and display the slope in degrees, in millimeters per meter, in percent and in degrees / minutes / seconds.
In addition, Althen offers various tilt angle measuring devices with MEMS sensors. MEMS sensors are on everyone's lips these days. It should be noted, however, that MEMS is only the generic term for any components manufactured in microsystem technology and therefore does not clearly describe the sensor principle in the case of our inclination sensors. For industrial tilt angle detection and monitoring, these are sufficient in many cases and enable interesting new developments. A typical example is a complete solution developed and manufactured by Althen for monitoring the inclination of a platform. If a certain switching point is exceeded, potential-free limit value relays are switched.
ATEX Approval
Another interesting in-house development is, for example, an inclination measuring system with ATEX approval.
Not many suppliers can offer that. The device is based on a capacitive sensor in a robust die-cast aluminum housing of protection class IP68 and is often used in wastewater technology. For "normal" industrial use, a version without Ex approval is also available.
Since all Inclination Sensors respond to the earth's gravitational field, they can not vary between inclination change and acceleration, e.g. by the movement of the object to be measured. Even vibrations have an influence on the measuring accuracy.
The complete development of metrological products, from the idea to the implementation, the creation of the board layout, the manufacturing and assembly of the board to calibration and, if desired by the customer, creating a traceable factory calibration certificate, we take over at ALTHEN itself have the technical possibilities and the entire know-how in the company, new projects can also be realized quickly if required. In addition, we have the opportunity to test and test most of our products ourselves if necessary. Our measuring equipment used is consistently traceable calibrated.