Cylinder Position Sensors, play an important role in making hydraulic cylinders safe and efficient. Cylinder position sensors like the popular
LDT (Linear Displacement Transducer) provide accurate and reliable absolute position feedback to help automate or control hydraulic cylinders.
Linear position sensors are mounted inside, or right next to, hydraulic cylinders, subjecting their electric circuits to an extreme working environment. We design position sensors to meet and exceed demands for ruggedness and accuracy, regardless of the application or environment. Innovation, proprietary technology, and decades of experience are key to the development of our line of Linear Displacement Transducers. We insist that our linear position sensors deliver value not only via their longevity and accuracy, but must also be easy to setup and easily interface with a host controller.
Magnetostrictive Linear Displacement Transducers are the preferred technology for cylinder position sensors in the hydraulics industry. These non-contact position sensors are absolute and are designed to withstand the pressures, temperatures, and high cycle rates associated with hydraulic cylinders.
Position monitoring of hydraulic cylinders is a field of expertise for GEMCO/Factory Automation, a part of AMETEK STC. Hydraulic cylinder manufacturers can provide cylinders that have been prepped to accept Magnetostrictive sensors. In a prepped cylinder, the manufacturer has modified the hydraulic cylinder to accept one of our rod-style linear transducers. A user or distributor can then simply screw a rod-style linear transducer into the hydraulic cylinder.
| Cylinders Must be Prepped for Magnetostrictive Technology |
| 1. |
Cylinders end cap must be machined to accept a Linear Transducer |
| 2. |
Magnet must be added to hydraulic cylinders piston |
| 3. |
Cylinder´s piston must be gun drilled with ½" bore |
AMETEK Factory Automation works with countless hydraulic cylinder manufacturers and distributors who service the fluid power industries.
If you are manufacturing hydraulic cylinders (or machinery using hydraulic cylinders) you know that downtime is costly, and service must be minimized. We help hydraulic cylinders perform with extreme accuracy on a daily basis. Even in high shock and vibration applications.
If you are performing service on hydraulic cylinders (or machinery using hydraulic cylinders) you will appreciate some of our unique features.
AGC – Automatic Gain Control
On some hydraulic cylinders, service can be very complicated. It may be prohibitive to remove a failed sensor from a cylinder, and there can be issues with replacing a sensor with one of a different brand. The Gemco AGC (Automatic Gain Control) feature removes the worry of changing a linear transducer when the brand of the magnet installed in the cylinder is unknown. With a Gemco LDT, a pulse is sent down the guide tube on power-up and the sensors internal signal strengths are automatically adjusted to that of the hydraulic cylinder magnet.
Linear Position Sensor Housings for External or Internal Mounting
The position sensors with compact housing or embedded housing are created for fluid power applications, allowing only a little space for the converter, either outside the hydraulic cylinder; or inside the hydraulic cylinder.
To assure longevity in the most demanding fluid power applications such as steel-, mining- or construction-hydraulics, the Gemco 958A Compact Housing LDT is designed to deliver industrial-leading tolerances of 1,000Gs shock resistance and 30Gs vibration resistance. The
Gemco 958A Compact Housing can withstand the cold-water power washing often used in agricultural, mining, construction, and other challenging environments.
Gemco 958A Compact Housing Linear Displacement Transducer
Gemco 958A Embedded Housing Linear Displacement Transducer
The design provides simplicity of installation on a fluid power cylinder, enabling the user to perform field service on the position sensor fast and effectively. The
Gemco 958 Compact Housing provides easily accessible housing, minimizing eventual long-lasting breakdowns. The design of
958 Embedded Housing allows installation inside the hydraulic cylinder; this means the hydraulic cylinder itself will protect the housing of the linear position sensor.
External Mounting and Rugged Protection
If you cannot remove a rod-style linear transducer from the inside of a cylinder, we offer the option to mount the magnetostrictive cylinder position sensor outside the cylinder, with our Gemco 950MD Series. The Series
950 Mill-Duty Housing (950MD) is designed for applications where mounting a stand-alone magnetostrictive Rod Style Linear Displacement Transducer (LDT) is prohibitive.
Potential physical damage, environmental conditions, and mounting limitations are all factors to consider when specifying a linear position feedback system that will perform flawlessly for many years to come. The 950MD housing is designed to eliminate all the hazards above by protecting the cylinder position sensor from physical and environmental damage from temperature, corrosives, shock & vibration, and dust and debris. Additionally, the Gemco 950MD offers a simple two-point mounting scheme that can compensate for the lateral and/or horizontal movement of the machine while in operation.
The
Gemco 950MD housing is perfect for retrofitting existing hydraulic cylinders with a Linear Displacement Transducer to provide a continuous position feedback signal. This is a convenient way to mount the 950MD an internal Linear Displacement Transducer parallel to the cylinder or equipment in motion. It also eliminates the need to tear down and gun drill the cylinder to accommodate a cylinder position sensor, if one had not been previously installed. The housing may also be helpful if you have an existing cylinder in operation that does not allow for easy removal of the linear transducer.
If you own machinery with hydraulic cylinders, whether your hydraulic cylinders are mounted on trucks,
mining machines, excavators, at
steel mills, or
offshore, we can help them to perform flawlessly, day in and day out, even in the most rugged applications. Gemco offers numerous package styles and output types to help meet your sensing needs.
We encourage you to read our application notes, based on real-life experiences, and contact us today to discuss how AMETEK Factory Automation can improve and protect your positioning needs.