BMF Service Case full of sensors

If a manufacturer loses production because of a damaged sensor, the machine must be stopped, then the sensor has to be identified, replaced, adjusted and secured in position before the machine can be restarted. All of this takes time and costs money, with the situation being even worse if the sensor is not immediately available. If breakdowns are caused by damage to a pneumatic cylinder sensor, Balluff has a speedy solution to the problem in the form of the Balluff BMF Magnetic Sensors and universal bracket fixing system, which enable Balluff sensors to be used on virtually any cylinder from any manufacturer. Instead of stocking many different cylinder switches from diverse sources, the manufacturer can simply hold Balluff BMF Magnetic Field Sensors and low-cost brackets.

To make things even easier these sensors and brackets are now available in a purpose-made, easy-to-carry, service case - known as the BMF Service Case.

Downtime costing 10,000 per hour

Mike Walker, a Senior Project Engineer at Greif Ellesmere Port, is one such user of the BMF Service Case. As a global producer of packaging materials, with the Ellesmere Port plant producing steel and plastic drums, loss of production must be kept at an absolute minimum, as any manufacturing interruption of a line costs up to 10,000 per hour.

Mr Walker has worked at Greif for nine years and is an experienced engineer; he is therefore fully aware of the problems of breakdowns and wanted to make sure he did not 'get caught out' by a sensor failure. When Balluff's Sales Engineer Norman Hurley originally showed him the BMF Service Case he stated that he "liked the idea of it" because it held "lots of different solutions for all types of pneumatic cylinder sensors."

Though not used for a time, the service case eventually came into its own during an evening shift when a machine went down with a maintenance issue; the case was quickly located, the sensor replaced and the machine commissioned. Mr Walker states: "The service case pays for itself on first use."

Made from aluminium, the BMF Service Case contains a selection of Balluff BMF magnetic field sensors, fastening brackets, an extensive range of accessories and a detailed user-friendly logical table of contents and literature. Because of the large selection of mounting elements, it is possible to adapt the sensors to virtually every pneumatic cylinder and reduce costs by using a small number of sensor types to maintain a wide variety of pneumatic cylinders.

Follow the link for more information about BMF magnetic field sensors and the BMF Service Case.