The Technology Behind Crouzet Optical Sensors And Convum Suction Cups Explained

By Author: Vikram Kumar
Total Articles: 9595
Comment this article

Both optical sensors and suction cups represent significant technological innovations, though they may not have been highly recognized ones. Optical sensors, otherwise known as photoelectric sensors, operate by means of receptors that are able to detect the presence or absence of light, which they then use as a cue to start or stop a particular action or process. Suction cups, on the other hand, make use of the concept of vacuum or the force created by the absence of air. Crouzet optical sensors and Convum suction cups are, respectively, perfect examples of the innovative inventions of optical sensors and suction cups.

Optical Sensors

Photoelectric sensors detect the presence or absence of light by using a combination of a light emitter or transmitter and a photoelectric receiver. The light transmitter typically produces infrared light. The most common form of photoelectric sensor senses the presence of an object by disruption of the transmitted light. When the object is present, it blocks the photoelectric sensor from receiving the light emitted by the transmitter, thus the sensor “detects” the object.

There ...
... are also other arrangements, such as where the light transmitter and photoelectric sensor are placed in the same location, with a reflective surface used to bounce the transmitted light back to the sensor. The sensor detects an object when the object blocks the transmitted light from reaching the reflector.

Optical sensors are widely used in the manufacturing industry to sense objects. Some sensors are used to alert a machine to the presence of an object that needs to be acted upon, while others are used as safety sensors, such as shutting down machinery when the presence of a human hand is detected in a place where it might get stuck in moving parts.

Suction Cups

Suction cups make use of the principle of physics that even gases like air occupy space, and they have a tendency to distribute themselves evenly throughout a space. If all the air is deliberately driven out of a space, then there is a tendency for the surrounding air to move into the empty space, thus forming a vacuum.

The most common type of suction cup can be found in almost any household, and they are those suction cups which adhere to glass or other smooth surfaces when you press them firmly to the surface. The vacuum is formed when the air is driven out the sides of the suction cup and then prevented from returning because the seal between the edge of the suction cup and the surface prevents it.

The suction cups developed by Convum also make use of a vacuum, but they use an active vacuum. This means that instead of a passive force formed by driving air out and not letting it return, an active vacuum is created where air is constantly being pumped out of the suction cup by an air compressor. This form of suction cup is particularly useful in the manufacture and handling of delicate items, allowing machines that are usually too clumsy to pick up and handle such delicate items to handle them without causing any damage.

DAS Services Inc is the premiere online purveyor of pneumatic components and equipment and related products, so if you are looking to purchase Crouzet optical sensors or Convum suction cups , then their website is the place to look!