Filling quantity monitoring of the screw supply

The task

A large number of screws are processed during the assembly of a battery pack. Bunker feed systems are used to stock these screws. In order to avoid an interruption in production, it is important to be informed in good time that screws need to be replenished.

The challenge

The sensor must not interfere with the handling area to ensure access to the bunker feed system for refilling the screws. This is complicated by the fact that the stainless steel body of the storage bin is reflective and the refill flap is made of transparent plastic, so extraneous light is to be expected. In addition, the screws do not provide a homogeneous closed surface.

Our solution

The light-intensive FT 55-RH or FT 55-BH sensors offer reliable detection of the screw quantity in the bunker feed system. The optical evaluation of the distance between sensor and screws is possible thanks to the interference-free background suppression. Even inhomogeneous surfaces can be detected without any problems with the LED emitter, which forms a clearly visible light spot. The simple operating concept and the optical reserve provided by the sensor design, which is optimized for performance, make it easy to set up the application. Only the distance from which the sensor is to transmit the information of the critical screw quantity has to be defined once with the help of the potentiometer.