Making manufacturing smarter with ASICs
MEASUREMENT & MONITORING POSITION SENSORS
SWINDON SILICON SYSTEMS LTD
Making manufacturing smarter with ASICs
Ongoing supply chain issues , skill gaps and ever-changing customer demands mean that now — more than ever — manufacturers are increasingly adopting ‘ smart ’ manufacturing mindsets to keep up . In this article , Richard Mount , Director of Sales at ASIC design and supply company Swindon Silicon Systems explores the role of position sensors within smart manufacturing , and how ASICs can drive the technology further forwards .
The concept of smart manufacturing has been around for some time . Essentially , its aim is to make processes more efficient and adaptable to changing market needs . This is all achieved while maintaining high production quality , worker safety and equipment uptime .
By making a manufacturing plant or process smarter , customer expectations are also met with greater swiftness . This could include the creation of more tailored , bespoke products to fit specific needs , which would otherwise be inefficient or unprofitable to manufacture . In highly competitive sectors , having a smarter , more agile mindset could be the make-or-break difference between staying ahead or falling behind the curve . But when it comes to executing smart methodologies at the production level , what technologies are available ?
DETECTING DISTANCE
Position sensing is a crucial element of many smarter manufacturing processes , particularly with enabling factory automation . Tasks like pick-and-place or product assembly require the equipment to very accurately know its position in order to move precisely — information that can be obtained using position sensors . Depending on the type , these sensors may determine an object ’ s position either directly by finding its absolute location , or indirectly by measuring its relative displacement .
One common example is the inductive position sensor . Relying on principles of electromagnetic induction , these position sensors allow for non-contact detection of metallic objects . Conductive targets cause disturbances in the magnetic field , which are detected by the sensing element . Because
only metallic objects will affect the magnetic field , inductive position sensing can ’ t be used to detect non-metals like plastic . But the upside of this is that the sensor is less likely to be affected by dust or dirt build-up because these won ’ t affect the magnetic field . This makes them ideal for operation within dirtier industrial environments .
Another type is the optical position encoder . These typically consist of an LED and photodetector , with either an optical disc or scale depending on whether the encoder is measuring linear or rotary displacement . Optical encoders can perform to high resolutions , making them ideal for applications where high precision matters , such as a CNC machine .
When photons of light are captured by the photodetector , a weak electrical signal is generated . This must be amplified using a signal-conditioning circuit before being digitised with an analogue-to-digital converter ( ADC ). It can then be received by a CPU or microcontroller , which is able to calculate object position based on the signal . The processing unit is capable of recognising events such as reference marks being passed and can immediately take remedial action within a closed-loop system .
ACCURATE SENSING
It ’ s vital that these processes of sensing , conditioning , and digitising are up to scratch . Sensor failure or inaccuracies could lead to the incorrect manufacture of products , leading to a drop in productivity and wasted materials and time .
When an encoder is first developed , it may be comprised of off-the-shelf discrete components or integrated circuits ( ICs ). And for low production volumes , this may be an adequate solution . But for a sensor solution that outstrips its competition , it ’ s preferable to opt for an Application Specific IC , or ASIC .
An ASIC is simply an IC that has been designed and manufactured with its exact application in mind . This bespoke approach to IC design results in a chip fully optimised for its role , often with reduced power consumption and smaller chip size as additional benefits to its improved performance .
Choosing ASIC design also offers IP protection to reassure sensor manufacturers that their IP will not be made available to the competition , keeping them one step ahead . The nature of custom IC development and design also makes it much harder to reverse engineer than a standard IC , offering another level of defence .
Manufacturers are increasingly looking for methods to maximise efficiency of the shop floor . And in critical applications , even the tiniest fraction of a millimetre could mean the difference between success and failure . By utilising ASIC-based technologies , it ’ s possible to optimise sensor solutions right from chip level for a superior performance , no matter the process .
To learn more about Swindon Silicon and its custom IC solutions , visit https :// www . swindonsilicon . com / news /
98 PECM Issue 64