Test and Measurement Forum

Hi,

I would like some technical assistance to determine what equipment I will need for data acqusition on an oven process. I have little or no experience in this area so feel free to assume zero knowledge on my part!

Basically, the process consists of a conveyor line passing through an oven. The aim of the data acqusition system is to record the temperature at 6 locations along the length of the oven (type K or J thermocouples will be used) & also record whether there are products entering or leaving the oven (I hope to use two photoelectric sensors at the entrance & exit of the oven to monitor this). As such the system would need at least 8 channels (perhaps more, see below). The sample rate is quite low, approx. every 20 - 30 seconds or so at most.

There is also an additional function I would like the system to perform, but I'm not sure if it's feasible. I'd like to record the temperature of a 'dummy' product on the conveyor as it passes through the oven. Is it possible to get wireless comunication between a temperature sensor (fitted to the dummy inside the oven) & a data acustion system?

Can you advise what products you supply that would be suitable for the job? Do supply or can you recommend a suitable sensor for the entrance / exit monitoring? I signal conditioning likely to be needed for the thermocouples & / or the photoelectric sensor?

Thanks & Regards

Niall

Hi Niall,

To measure the temperature you would need one of our TC-08's this is a 8 channel temperature measurement unit, which can use all types of thermocouples. This will allow you to monitor the 6 channels of temperature.

The Software is not designed to be an event counter so it will not be able to tell you when the unit door is open or closed, but what it will do is record the voltage change when the door is opened or closed. This data would then need to be analyised outside of Picolog to get the results you will need.

Depending on the output of the photoelectric sensors it might be possible to use this also with the TC-08 as each channel can take a voltage in the range of ±60mV. If the voltage is above this then it would also be possible to use a potential divider to reduce it to the TC-08s voltage range.

To be used the photoelectric sensors they have to have one output and a ground. Which would connect into the TC-08s channels.

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a unit that will accomplish your final requirement of using a dummy item and a temperature measurement that will go through the oven and transmit via radio.

For full specification and prices please visit our web site:

http://www.picotech.com/order.html

If in the future you need more channels to measure temperature, all you would need to do is purchase a further TC-08, as Pico log can use multiple units. These units connect to a serial port, or a USB port via a USB to serial port adaptor.

Best regards,