Balluff announced the IoT Photoelectric all-rounder BOS 21M ADCAP, a newly developed optical
multifunction sensor in its BOS 21M series.
According to its maker, this versatile all-rounder uses red light and lets operators choose from four sensor modes: background suppression, energetic diffuse, retroreflective or through-beam sensor. All the sensor functions can be configured over IO-Link while the system is running, so that a remote teach-in can be initiated by the controller. In addition, the sensor detects actual operating conditions, collects and processes information and provides far more data than just the switching signal over IO-Link. Detection signals are prepared and pre-processed in the sensor, which relieves the burden on the system controller and reduces data volume on fieldbus systems.
Comprehensive, smart-diagnostics functions provide important information, such as life expectancy, operating hours and function reserve. Sensor misalignment, setting errors or other irregularities can be reliably detected by monitoring the emissivity values as a measure of the sensor-signal quality. Balluf claims that the BOS 21M ADCAP is the first to optically monitor the output of the emitter LED directly and to determine the "stress level" by means of the sensor interior temperature and the supply voltage.
