How can flow sensors improve the performance of your robotics?

The uses for flow sensors in the robotics sector is growing. This is especially the case with Soft Robotics. As the world increasingly adopts these robotics solutions, there exists more scope for the usage Flow sensors beyond measurement and control of the flow of fluids or gases for precise movement and manipulation. Flow Sensors/Flow meters can also be used for gripper pressure, haptic feedback, environment sampling (especially in the case of cobots) and even for enhancing artificial muscle capabilities of these robots.

Robotic spot welding requires flow sensors for water to ensure that the welding gun is correctly cooled and that the flow contributes to the formation of the spot weld. Thus measuring the supply and return can identify any deficit between the two and report accordingly. Furthermore with the increase use of automated cap changing, water flow systems with an automatic drawback is imperative to ensure that no water is spilt in the production area. Finally there is the leak detection capability that is afforded with implementation of such a flow monitoring system, which can react and stop all processes to prevent damage to expensive capital equipment.

Fully agree. It’s a shame it’s usually one of the things that gets taken out of a contract to save money. That is until the customer blows his first MFDC transformer. Then it gets added back into the system along with that not so cheap Transformer or weld control.

Flow sensors are a crucial tool in the advancement of industrial robots and surgical robots. They provide real-time feedback on the flow of fluids and gases, enhancing control, increasing efficiency, reducing wear and tear, and enhancing safety. In industrial robots, flow sensors control hydraulic fluid flow to actuators, ensuring precise and smooth movements. In warehouse robots, flow sensors control air flow to pneumatic grippers, ensuring accurate object placement. In self-driving cars, flow sensors monitor fuel, coolant, and other fluids, ensuring safe and efficient operation. Lastly, in surgical robots, flow sensors monitor blood and other fluids during surgery, ensuring patient safety and smooth progress.

When selecting a flow sensor for your robot, you must carefully evaluate various options. Turbine sensors offer speed and accuracy but can be sensitive to factors like turbulence and wear. Thermal sensors are energy-efficient and sensitive, but environmental conditions can impact their performance. Ultrasonic sensors provide accuracy without intrusion but come at a higher cost and complexity. The right choice depends on your specific project requirements, including fluid or gas type, pipe size, accuracy needs, power constraints, budget, and compatibility with your robot's hardware and software.

It depends on the application as the many and varied sensors available for water flow can be impacted by contaminants in the water, mineral deposits in hard water areas, slime and sludge build up, which is a health hazard if the water is exposed to open air. Thus in many cases for robotic resistance welding, using vortex shedding system without any moving parts is beneficial over and above ultrasonic or magnetic flow sensors. Vortex shedding use in resistance welding is the standard.

Fenceline mounted systems for resistance welding applications are available where the supply and return are connected to the flow monitor system with a fen cline display or some systems use GUI of the specific robot so operators can see from the robotic teach pendant. The flow monitor can be connected via the appropriate bus system to conform with IoT and Industry 4.0 standards. Fitting is by secure mounting to fence line or specific stand and secured thereto. Standard water fitments are used according to specification in place.

High quality systems for example from Proteus Industries have all modern protocols for data output to the manufacturing procedure system in place. This includes water temperature for supply and return as well.