New Zebra Sensors Increase Supply Chain Visibility

Zebra Technologies Corporation, a leading digital solution provider enabling businesses to intelligently connect data, assets, and people, has launched its new line of environmental sensors. The full solution, including the new ZS300 sensor, ZB200 Bridge and Android Sensor Discovery app, further expands Zebra’s opportunity to transform environmental exposures into customer insights.

Using these sensors, manufacturers, wholesalers, transportation and logistics operators in the food, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries now have cloud-based visibility into a range of environmental factors, including temperature monitoring and moisture detection. This will enable them to know if products have been maintained within appropriate conditions across the supply chain. The sensors help improve profitability by allowing users to take corrective action in real time and maximise their productivity with a more efficient data logger.

“We’re excited to expand our sensor technology to address the need for cost-effective supply chain visibility and data insights,” said Tony Cecchin, Vice President and General Manager, Supplies and Sensors, Zebra Technologies. “The ZS300 electronic sensor extends our robust portfolio, including visual and printable indicators, providing customers the ability to drive smarter business decisions, reduce waste and increase efficiency.”

Zebra understands its customers’ needs for continuous visibility into the handling of environmentally sensitive items, particularly for the food, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries that must move products safely across the supply chain. The new ZS300 electronic sensor addresses the current challenges faced with heightened consumer concerns about medications or food being compromised in transit with a secure cloud platform that makes it easy to integrate temperature logging into a wide variety of applications and systems of record. They are available in multipacks and include minimal biodegradable packaging and a no-cost recycling program to help reduce the impact on the environment.

Only four-in-10 pharmaceutical decision-makers surveyed in Zebra’s Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Vision Study said they completely trust the entities within the pharmaceutical supply chain to keep medications safe and uncompromised throughout the supply chain. And according to the Zebra Food Safety Supply Chain Vision Study, only an average of 37% of industry decision-makers and 20% of consumers place complete trust in the industry to ensure food and beverage safety.  Zebra is a market leader in asset tracking, and this new solution extends the power of Zebra’s mobile computers and tablets as data can be collected from these devices to provide immediate visibility to the temperature exposure of shipments.

Ivanti Wavelink, an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partner, is one of the first to develop a software solution for the ZS300/ZB200 electronic sensors solution using APIs, SDKs and documentation from Zebra to provide temperature insights with location. The Ivanti Velocity Client and Ivanti’s Neurons for IIOT platform support the ZS300 solution to seamlessly enable the integration of environmental sensing into enterprise systems.

“Environmental sensors address critical needs of businesses in the market, and we are excited to collaborate with Zebra to deliver for our mutual customers,” said Brandon Black, Senior Vice President, and General Manager, Ivanti Wavelink. “Today, we are seeing customers place a lot more emphasis on monitoring the conditions of goods where spoilage can result in costly recalls and adversely affect their bottom lines. With Zebra, our combined solution helps customers gain a competitive edge while reducing risk.”

 

Bolt-on sensor for continuous condition monitoring

SICK has launched its MPB10 Multi-Physics Box condition monitoring sensor, a pioneering and rugged bolt-on device designed to deliver real-time, continuous service data from industrial machines, including electric motors, pumps, fans and conveyor systems, even in the harshest industry environments.

SICK’s first dedicated condition monitoring sensor, the MPB10 is an all-in-one device designed to make it easy to monitor and interpret vibration, shock and temperature measurement data delivered right from the heart of machines. The MPB10 provides service data to enable more cost-efficient predictive maintenance practices that can improve plant availability, maximise operating life, and protect product and process quality.

Detecting signs of failure

The SICK MPB10 measures vibration, shocks and temperature that can be the tell-tale signs of approaching machine failure. Users are provided with pre-processed, concise and easy to interpret information that can be customised for the machine and process.

A stand-alone SICK MPB10 can transmit data over IO-Link to a machine control or output a simple alarm-based switching signal. With wide-ranging measurement parameters, the MPB10 can be set up according to the type of machine to alert, for example, when values exceed pre-configured thresholds.

Dashboard visualisation

Users also have the option to visualise real-time and historic data from the SICK MPB10 on easy-to-interpret, customisable dashboards using the SICK Monitoring Box digital service. Via the Monitoring Box, operators can also receive notifications via email, or provide data for integration into cloud-based applications.

The SICK MPB10 detects vibrations (±8G) and shocks up to 200G in all three axes via the sensor’s MEMS elements. Multi-stage alerts can be set up to monitor vibration thresholds according to the requirements of DIN ISO 10816-3 in rotating machines such as electric motors, fans, turbines and generators. The indicative vibration values in the time and frequency range are significantly easier to interpret than raw data, helping to detect, for example, insufficient lubrication, bearing damage or motor imbalances.

Protected by a rugged IP68 stainless-steel housing, the MPB10 delivers consistent contact temperature data between −40°C and +80°C, even in dusty or wet environments. Ideally fixed close to the bearings, the MPB10 can be mounted securely using a single M3 screw or fixed onto curved surfaces using the mounting plate supplied. Alternatively, it can be secured with epoxy glue or welded.

Cost-saving benefits

David Hannaby, SICK’s Market Manager for Presence Detection, said: “The SICK MPB10 is a rugged little instrument with the potential to add huge value to industrial machines and processes. By bolting on an MPB10 to their machine, plant operators and managers can upgrade simply to predictive maintenance practices and identify problems early before any significant decrease in performance or failure.

“By avoiding damaging temperatures, shocks or vibrations, the availability of the machine can be increased, product and process quality can be protected, and operators have more potential to extend the life of their machines. Maintenance effort and costs are reduced because reactive interventions can be avoided, and time-consuming routine preventive inspections can become less frequent.”

Roller sensor bar ends conveyor headaches

SICK has developed a versatile and easy to install Roller Sensor Bar to tackle common conveyor downtime headaches for operators in wide-ranging materials handling, parcel sorting or logistics hubs.

The SICK Roller Sensor Bar has been perfected to deliver high sensing performance when detecting the leading edges of varied, flat or irregular shaped packages on conveyors. Mounted between rollers or belted sections, the SICK Roller Sensor Bar’s flexible concept dispenses with the need to pre-qualify and stock multiple sensor types.

Quickly mounted using spring-loaded end caps, a pre-configured SICK Roller Sensor Bar is ready to start work without needing to be aligned. Whether mounted during conveyor manufacture or fitted to an existing production line, the time taken to install and set up a Roller Sensor Bar is minimal.

Eliminate Conveyor Jams

“Conveyor jams are a common headache for all sorts of logistics and materials handling environments. The Roller Sensor Bar eliminates the unplanned downtime caused when conventional sensor set-ups cause jamming, package build-ups or misdirects,” says David Hannaby, SICK’s UK Product Manager for Presence Detection.

“Jams can happen when packages catch on sensing holes in the conveyor walls, or on the sensor themselves. The Roller Sensor Bar can also be configured without blind zones at the sides of the conveyor. Installation and alignment time is reduced, and there is no need to purchase extra mounting brackets or reflectors.”

SICK says it has made it quick and easy to customise the Roller Sensor Bar so it can detect a wide range of shapes and sizes of packages simultaneously, in any orientation, and even when they have irregular or thin leading edges. It can therefore be quickly adapted for a broad range of detection needs from, non-transparent poly bags and jiffy packs through to totes or pallets.

Users specify the sensor bar length ranging from 200mm to 1.2m, then set between two and eight sensing points spaced 50mm to 200mm apart. As a result, they achieve alignment precision and avoid detection blind zones. Positioned to detect from below, the SICK Roller Sensor Bar has excellent ambient light immunity so false trips and triggers, e.g. by reflections from high visibility clothing, are avoided.

A choice of ten different connector types and nine standard cable lengths ensure quick and easy installation, not just into all kinds of roller conveyors, but for belted conveyor sections and flexible conveyors.

The IO-Link variant of SICK’s Roller Sensor bar enables operators to access diagnostic information to reduce conveyor downtime. Using IO-Link, individual beam breaks can be identified for product alignment checks, e.g. to confirm a divert has happened, or to alert when objects are skewed or in the wrong position on the conveyor. It can also track each sensor’s operating status and alert to service or maintenance requirements.

With an IP67-rated housing, the SICK Roller Sensor bar is resilient to the ingress of dust or water during cleaning procedures.

 

Leuze sensor offers measuring and switching

The innovative ODT 3C sensor from Leuze can handle both measuring and switching tasks. The new 2-in-1 solution is thus suitable for a wide range of automated industrial applications.

Is there an object on the conveyor belt? If yes: What is its position or distance to the machine? These are typical issues that need to be addressed in a wide range of industrial applications and processes. In the past, to solve this problem required the use of multiple sensors. With the new ODT 3C from Leuze, only a single device is needed: The innovative sensor can transmit both switching and measuring information to the machine control system, which makes it an efficient and economical 2-in-1 solution.

Flexibility with a single sensor

The ODT 3C transmits measurement values and extensive diagnostic data via IO-Link. The data includes temperature values, warnings, and signal quality. It features impressive black-and-white behaviour (< ±3mm at 150mm). The operating range can be easily adjusted via the teach button, remote signal or IO-Link.

The new Leuze sensor also offers impressive functional reliability: Active ambient light suppression prevents faulty switching, even when exposed to direct light from LED building lighting systems. LEDs that are easily visible from all sides allow you to quickly read the status of the ODT 3C. Two independent switching outputs and sensor models with warning output or a small light spot (pinpoint) round of the sensor’s functions. This enables plant operators to use the ODT 3C flexibly in a wide range of applications.

Application example from food industry

A machine is rolling off dough for baked goods. The ODT 3C sensor is pointing down onto the dough. It sends a distance value to the parent control. The goal is to regulate the dough within an optimal distance range of 100–120mm.

If the sensor detects a measurement value outside the target range, the conveyor belt motors adjust the speed of the conveyor accordingly. The measurement value is evaluated in the process data via IO-Link. In addition, diagnostic data is transmitted to the controller via IO-Link for Industry 4.0 purposes.

 

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