ActiveX® Software
Interface Added to SiloPatrol® System
Elburn, IL – Unaffected
by dust, vapors, vessel construction, or acoustic noise,
the SiloPatrol® inventory
monitoring system provides reliable continuous level measurement
in a variety of applications. Monitor Technologies' economical
system recently added a new user interface, an ActiveX® software
package.
When
using Monitor's ActiveX® software package, SiloPatrol inventory
monitors can be integrated into a PLC/PC control system,
without the use of analog signals. The SMU "smart" sensor
uses RS-485 multi-drop communications which, in conjunction
with the use of the available ActiveX® software, significantly
cuts the cost of installation by simplifying wiring and
eliminating the need for analog I/O cards.
The
communication driver contained within Monitor's ActiveX® software
manages the message handling with the SMUs. The specific
ActiveX® controls provided allow the control system designer
to easily place SiloPatrol inventory monitoring functions
directly into the system's operator interface screens and
control the SMU(s). In Screen Design Mode, the available
sensor functions can be placed exactly where they are needed
by "dragging and dropping" them in place.
Monitor
offers two versions of the ActiveX® software package:
basic and full-featured. Both packages can be used to request
and read measurements and to read status and error messages.
The full-featured software will further save time for control
system designers by providing ActiveX® controls that
will convert and calculate units of measure, construct bin
icons and setup alarms.
Elburn, IL. — The
Monitor rectangular air pad is used to promote the flow
of dry bulk powders in a storage vessel. By continuously
introducing air into the body of a dry powder, the air
pad is able to maintain the fluid like characteristic of
aerated powder.
The Rectangular-style
air pad features an effective radius of 10 inches and is
available at a low cost. Other features include easy installation
and minimal maintenance. The air pad also has the ability
to adapt to almost any bin configuration.
An external
mounting kit is available. This kit can completely eliminate
the need to enter the bin to install or service air pad bin
aerators. Monitor's air pad and external mounting kit can
easily install in existing cutouts of other brands.
Monitor's
air pad is designed for many dry powder applications including
cement, resins, and carbon black.
Monitor's SiloPatrol system also features a
PC-based inventory management system. The SiloTrack™ software
package provides a flexible graphical interface upp to 128 "smart" output
sensors.
The TrueCap® Model MK-2
RF Capacitance point level probe is designed to provide a superior
and stable sensitivity threshold making it suitable for a variety
of powder / bulk solids and some liquid or slurry applications.
Advanced features of the Model MK-2 include: > Automatic immunity to material build-up on
the probe by its driven shield design > Push-button calibration > Enhanced temperature compensation > Maximized reliability via smart sensing algorithms
like “self-validating” fail-safe protection > Visible status LED on ordinary location units > Versatility through a variety of configuration
options including: hazardous location version, split architecture
design, quick-connect process connection, stub probe, cable extensions,
solid extensions, Nylon® probes, Ryton® - equiv. probes,
etc.
A practical application for the TrueCap would be to use this level sensor where
a residual material build-up on a different sensor would cause a false material
level indication.
Principle of Operation for the TrueCap RF Capacitance Level
Probe:
The vessel wall and the active probe element establish an impedance reference
between each other when exposed to air which has a dielectric constant of 1.
When materials with a dielectric constant greater than 1 are in close proximity
to the probe, the impedance of the sensing field between the sensor and the vessel
wall will change. Once the amount of change exceeds a threshold that was electronically
determined during the calibration process, an output relay will either be energized
or de-energized depending upon the position of the fail-safe selector on the
probe’s electronic circuit board. A change of as little as .5 pico-farad
is all that is necessary for the probe to sense the presence of material.
