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Plug-and-play torque amplifier needs no programming
Published:  01 July, 2014

The data acquisition and measurement specialist HBM has announced an industrial measurement amplifier that it claims is the only one available that allows users to take accurate, position-based torque measurements that can be used directly by industrial control systems and dynamometers.

The PX460 amplifier allows users to take dynamic measurements of raw and filtered torque, frequency, pulse, speed, and angle of rotation. When combined with HBM’s APM (Advanced Plug & Measure) technology and Teds (Transducer Electronic Data Sheet) platform for sensor integration, users can simply connect torque sensors to the amplifier and get going without needing any programming.

Users “no longer have to choose between measurement performance and plug-and-play simplicity,” says HBM’s product and application manager for industrial amplifiers, Michael Guckes.

The amplifier module plugs into HBM’s PMX data acquisition and control system. It can acquire up to four channels of data simultaneously from torque transducers, with an analogue bandwidth of up to 6kHz. As well as powering the torque transducer, the PX460 can also acquire encoder signals of up to 2MHz with absolute precision. It interfaces with most reaction arm-based dynamometers, providing them with filtered and smooth torque updates in real time at the required control loop rate.

Using an on-board, position-based filter, the PX460 smoothes the torque measurements so that they can be fed directly into a machine control system or dynamometer using real-time fieldbuses such as Profinet, EtherCat and Ethernet IP, or by using an analogue output.

HBM’s Web-based PMX data acquisition and control system uses APM and Teds for easy sensor integration. It recognises connected sensors automatically, and enters their correct settings, so that it can start to make measurements immediately. As a result, says HBM, users spend less time setting up, the system is more stable, and there are fewer sources of measurement error.

Measurement modes available from the system include:

HBM's torque amplifier plugs into its PMX data acquisition and control system

•  up to four torque flanges for torque or rotational speed measurement (without detecting the direction of rotation);

•  two channels for simultaneous measurement of rotational speed and angle of rotation (with direction of rotation);

•  one channel for simultaneously measuring rotational speed and angle of rotation, or recognising reference signals;

•  two chanels for angular/incremental encoders, SSI, PWM sensors, magnetic transducers or pulse counters; and

•  four channels for measuring frequencies up to 2MHz.