Contrinex's cylinder sensors now count cycles and watch temperature too

What's new

Contrinex put out news on its Smart Cylinder Position Sensors on 30 September. A normal cylinder sensor answers one question: has the piston got to its position?

Contrinex says this one answers a second, and I like how they put it: "How is the cylinder performing over time?" It does that by combining position sensing, diagnostics and connectivity in one robust sensor, for hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders. Their tagline is teach position, track performance.

What it keeps an eye on

• Piston position. It detects the end position you taught it.
• Switching cycles. There's a built-in counter, with an alarm when it hits a threshold you define.
• Temperature. It monitors and reports over-temperature events.
• Sensor and process data. All of it is available over IO-Link, including switching status, cycle counts and temperature data.

Built for hydraulics

Cylinders are hard on sensors: pressure, temperature swings, vibration. Contrinex quotes up to 500 bar operating pressure and up to 1,000 bar peak, which is why they pitch it at demanding hydraulic cylinders. They also say it can be used on compatible pneumatic cylinders.

Setting it up

No fiddling with mechanical adjustment. You teach the piston end position digitally, which Contrinex says gives you fast commissioning and a repeatable switching point. You can also configure it, and read sensor information, through PocketCodr and IO-Link.

What I think

The bit I find interesting is the cycle counter, more than the position switching. It gives you a way to service a cylinder based on how many times it has actually cycled rather than on the calendar, which is the direction Contrinex itself points to with predictive and preventive maintenance.

To be fair to them, they also say how you use the data depends on your application and machine. The sensor gives you numbers. The maintenance plan is still yours to work out.

Before you order, I'd check:

• The datasheet. The news page gives no part numbers, thread or housing sizes, sensing principle or electrical specs. Start from the product range page they link to.
• Cylinder fit. They say "compatible" pneumatic cylinders, so check yours.
• What IO-Link actually gives you. The page mentions switching status, cycle counts and temperature data. Check exactly what your PLC receives, and what the cycle alarm does when it trips.
• An IO-Link master port, if you want the diagnostics in your controller.

Everything above comes from Contrinex's news page. The figures are Contrinex's.