Summary
During high-speed production of retail items, a confectionery manufacturer conveys individual bags of candy to a pick-and-place packing robot for secondary packaging. A highly reliable diffuse-mode photoelectric sensor, mounted beside the conveyor, detects the presence of bags as they approach the packing station and inhibits the pick-and-place sequence if no bags are queued for packing.
Customer value
- Reliable, repeatable in-line detection on a non-contact basis
- Elimination of errors caused by previous mechanical sensors
- Increased productivity as stability alarm flags preventative-maintenance needs
- Single sensor accommodates a range of bag sizes without repositioning
- Remote adjustment via IO-Link reduces changeover time between products
Specific product advantages
- Maximum sensing range 3 mm to 1500 mm with high-intensity red LED
- IO-Link connectivity available at no extra cost on PNP versions
- Switching frequency selectable between 500 Hz and 5 kHz via IO-Link
- Dual output with stability alarm
Customer Application
 In the food-processing industry, consumer products generally require secondary packaging – both for consolidation and for protection – before final dispatch. During confectionery production, individual bags of candy travel by conveyor from bagging stations to a pick-and-place packing robot for secondary packaging, before passing to the labeling and packing area.
Ideally, product flow along the conveyor is continuous; in practice, interruptions occur from time to time as bagging machines require attention. In the absence of bagged products arriving at the secondary-packaging station, a plant-wide control system prevents operation of the pick-and-place robot to prevent misfilling.
Immediately prior to arrival at the secondary-packaging station, custom-formed guide rails align bags for packing. Space is limited and there is no easy access to both sides of the conveyor. A highly reliable non-contact sensor system is needed to detect the presence of bags as they approach the alignment rails; the system must inhibit the pick-and-place sequence if no bags are queued for packing.
Customer Solution
Miniature diffuse-mode photoelectric sensors from the Contrinex C23 Series are ideal for this application. These highly reliable devices contain both a transmitter and a receiver and do not require a separate reflector, instead relying on the reflective nature of the target. Space constraints are accommodated without compromise, thanks to a maximum sensing range of 3 to 1500mm. This is adjustable via a pre-set potentiometer or via IO-Link, the standardized point-to-point serial connection protocol.
Immediately before the alignment rails, a single sensor is mounted beside the conveyor; positioning sensors is simple thanks to a range of adjustable mounting brackets. As each bag passes in front of the sensor, its presence triggers the device, sending a signal to the customer’s control system. A high-intensity red LED with a 15mm-diameter light spot at the selected 500mm sensing range ensures highly reliable detection of bags in real-time.
Mounted in 20mm x 30mm x 10mm miniature plastic housings, C23 photoelectric sensors  are available with industry-standard PNP or NPN 3‑wire or 4-wire output. Connection to the customer’s control system is via a PVC-sheathed cable with the choice of an integral M12 connector or a hermetically sealed entry. A second output provides a stability alarm in the event of reduced sensitivity, flagging the need for preventative maintenance before any performance degradation occurs.