New Philtec Agent

Ixthus Instrumentation has been appointed as the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for the complete range of high accuracy fibre optic displacement sensors from USA manufacturer Philtec. The durable non-contact range provides highly repeatable position measurement at bandwidths up to 350 kHz over distances up to 50 mm, and with resolution as low as 2 nanometres. Available with digital or analogue output hardware, Philtec fibre optic displacement sensors measure the intensity of reflected light from target surfaces using fibre optic bundles. The intrinsically safe technology is impervious to magnetic fields and high voltage environments and is an excellent alternative to capacitive and inductive sensors. Well suited to harsh environments such as cryogenic, high temperature and ultra high vacuum, the compact sensor’s dimensions (with fibre optic tip diameter as small as 0.5 mm) allows measurements inside of mechanisms or submerged in fluids. Applications for Philtec fibre optic displacement sensors include deflection measurements, dimensional gauging, dynamic vibration analysis, motion control, measurements in vacuum, process control, thickness measurements and surface profiling. Two basic types of sensor are available - Reflectance Dependant (Type D) and Reflectance Compensated (Type RC). D versions determine object displacement along the axis of the sensor as required for vibration monitoring or linear stage position measurement, whilst the RC version measures objects moving perpendicular to the sensor such as cylindrical shaft run-out. Both D and RC versions can be supplied with a choice of digital and analogue signal output hardware in single and multi-channel formats. Analogue suits high bandwidth, dynamic applications such as servo position feedback with bandwidths up to 1 MHz possible. The digital output hardware features a linear RS232 output with a 5 kHz sampling rate, and with measurement storage possibilities suiting process control and absolute distance measurement. Philtec application control software is also available. For vacuum applications up to 10-11 Torr, a range of pass-through sealed interfacing flanges are available and Philtec are able to customise standard product to exactly match customers requirements. The Philtec range perfectly complements Ixthus Instrumentation’s non contact position measurement range offering an improved choice of sensor technologies for existing application areas and extending the capability for solving challenging applications. Ixthus Instrumentation’s other non contact sensor technologies includes inductance, eddy current, capacitance, ultrasonic, optical, lasers, resistance and piezo electric.

For more information on New Philtec Agent talk to Ixthus Instrumentation Ltd