#Industry News
Gemco 956 eBlok™ Provides Increased Performance and ROI for Automated Manufacturing
AMETEK Factory Automation has released the Gemco 956 eBlok linear position sensor. The new 956 eBlok is a Rod & Barrell style package that helps simplify installation, serviceability and improves performance and price without affecting quality.
Gemco 956 eBlok is a high-performance, cost-effective linear position sensing solution that is designed for applications that often would choose traditional linear potentiometers for position monitoring. The 956 eBlok utilizes field-proven Magnetostrictive technology to give absolute analog position, repeatable to 0.001% of the programmable sensing distance. Traditional linear potentiometers are contact-type devices that drift with temperature and are prone to wear and breakdowns, especially when exposed to containments or ongoing repetitive movement in applications like plastic molding machinery and other automated manufacturing machines.
Accuracy, repeatability, and longevity are much improved in modern position sensors like Magnetostrictive linear displacement transducers. But these types of linear position sensors have traditionally had higher price tags compared to potentiometers. So, a reasonable question posed by many users and automation engineers, is whether a linear position sensor is worth the money.
Are Linear Position Sensors worth the Investment Compared to Linear Potentiometers?
Gemco has succeeded in developing a cost-effective linear sensing solution. One that will outperform linear potentiometers and other low-cost sensors in efficiency and longevity, and perform well on ROI. Gemco’s 956 eBlok delivers the quality expected from Magnetostrictive linear displacement transducers. But, due to its limited need for service, and improved longevity, will offer a highly competitive ROI based on the life of the instrument.
The 956 eBlok is a self-contained unit with no head assembly. The streamlined anodized aluminum extrusion houses the sensing element, electronics, and sensing magnet in a Rod & Barrel style package. The magnet assembly of the linear position sensor is enclosed in the extrusion and is attached via a bearing assembly to the piston rod. As the piston rod extends and retracts, the internal magnet moves over the sensing element determining its position and converting the signal to an analog output.
The electronics are isolated in a chamber that is sealed to IP67. The units can be ordered in lengths from 1” to 60” in 1” increments (25mm to 1525mm), with the linear position sensor configured with features that have made Gemco the preferred brand with many automation engineers throughout the years: like Programmable Zero and Span Points that allow adjusting the output to the exact requirements of the individual machine. Built-in diagnostics notify the host controller if the magnet signal is ever lost, or if the machine has moved out of the programmable range. The measurement accuracy is 16-bit and the output can be delivered as 0-10 VDC or 4-20mA, via the sensors 5-pin M12 style connector.
Ready to Improve Old and New Automated Manufacturing Machinery Today
The launch of Gemco 956 eBlok is great news for design engineers and owners of plastic molding machines and other automated manufacturing machinery that experience daily, ongoing repetitive motion. The 956 eBlok is designed to work flawlessly in applications with high temperature, repetitive movement, high shock & vibration, or anywhere else that the moving magnet assembly will benefit from protection from dirt, chips, or other containments.
