According to Parker Hannifin, the company "has taken [hydraulic-cylinder] position sensing technology to the next level with a unique design that eliminates the time and costs associated with gun drilling, calibration, and field servicing challenges associated with other technologies. Installation, says Parker Hannifin, is virtually plug-and-play. The Intellinder Absolute Position Sensor integrates easily into hydraulic cylinders, says the company, without any exposed external sensors or complex linkages, making it an ideal solution for challenging outdoor environments.
The technology uses position-identifying bar codes on the rod to communicate absolute position directly and precisely to the controller. Position report occurs at power-on with no need for calibration. The design of the Intellinder's sensor combines highly engineered optics with a proprietary lens that provides excellent resolution, linearity, repeatability, accuracy, and hysteresis, says the company. The resulting sharp bar code imaging translates into consistent and predictable control of critical positioning operations. The sensor provides health monitoring, which can detect potential cylinder malfunctions before they can disrupt operations. Multiple sensors can be mounted, allowing for redundancy for high demand applications.
The Intellinder Absolute Position Sensor is designed to perform across a wide range of temperatures, provides long stroke capabilities of 20 feet or more, and sustains performance in applications exposed to vibration, dust, gravel, corrosives, chemicals, axial load, side load and immersion.
“We’ve run this new technology through a challenging array of lab and field tests to validate its ability to retain signal strength and seal life in the most grueling conditions, says Parker Commercialization Manager, Mike Laurich. "For tough applications, such as waste removal, material handling, construction, agriculture, forestry, marine, and military environments, the Intellinder Absolute Position Sensor offers a precise and reliable alternative to existing technologies.”
