In spite of all the sensors found on vehicles, a torque sensor is not one of them. “All OEMs today use torque sensors in their lab and instrumentation systems to develop products, but today, passenger cars and light trucks are not using torque sensing in serial production,” says Paul Cain, director of marketing — Transportation Products for Custom Sensors and Technologies Inc. “Engine control module engineers and transmission engineers are seeking a high accuracy torque technology in their assembly, but the price points of torque sensors have historically been too high.” A production-viable technology from BEI Duncan Electronics Div., called BEITORQ, could change this.
Using patented technology licensed from NCTEngineering GmbH, Pulsed Current Modulated Encoding (PCME) establishes a permanent magnetically encoded region inside an existing shaft, as long as the shaft is made from a ferro-magnetic material. Applying a mechanical force causes the shaft to radiate a magnetic field that is measured by the sensor. As the torque is increased on the shaft the magnetic field is also increased outside this encoded region. The coils then “read” this changing magnetic field. The sensor assembly is designed to reject unwanted external magnetic field signals, such as those from the earth’s magnetic field. The sensor operates in air, water and oil with only 5 mA current consumption, provides a high signal bandwidth of 10 kHz and accepts large alignment tolerances of 0.5 mm. With a temperature range up to 210C, ideal applications are automotive and industrial environments.
In vehicles, a torque sensor mounted at the crankshaft can monitor dynamic torque sensing on the engine as a primary sensor for next-generation engine control modules to optimize fuel economy and eliminate other sensors. Additionally, these torque sensors are under development in transmission applications in both the input and output shaft locations. To use it effectively, a torque sensor requires a different architecture in the control module. While it is not a trivial system design change, the benefits could offset the effort in a new engine or transmission management system. With the pressure for improved fuel economy and soaring gas prices, torque sensing could supply a means for improvement over accepted design methodology. Today, strong interest in diesel engines could provide one of the first applications.
Gigabit and PoE are two networking technologies moving ahead in tandem as industrial users power remote Ethernet devices such as IP security cameras at 1,000 Mbps over existing CAT5 cable.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
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I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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