Gaining a cutting edge in the machinery world

If a cutting tool is incorrectly positioned in high-performance machines, this can lead to machining errors, damage to the machine or personal injury, cautions Micro-Epsilon.

To this end, the company has introduced a range of inductive displacement sensors that monitor the clamping position in machine tools. The sensors are said to be extremely compact and robust, while providing high temperature stability and high repeatability, even in harsh machine tool environments.

Its new induSENSOR LVP-25-Z20 and induSENSOR LDR-14-Z20 are cylindrical sensors integrated into the release device to detect the clamping stroke of the drawbar (ie, shaft, spindle), which passes through the centre of the sensor.

The measuring object is a target ring, which is attached to the drawbar. “This ‘through-bore’ sensor design requires the minimum amount of installation space, compared to more traditional clamping position sensors,” states the company.

Glenn Wedgbrow, business development manager at Micro-Epsilon comments: “The induSENSOR LVP and LDR sensors measure on a continuous, non-contact basis and are therefore wear-free. The sensors also offer large measuring ranges [25mm and 14mm] relative to their short design, which simplifies their integration into release devices on clamping systems where space can be limited.”