“Having sensors added to our portfolio will enable us to create more value for our customers by providing an integrated solution with the expertise from both Molex and Contrinex,” says Riky Comini, Molex’s director of industrial automation. “By offering an end-to-end solution, we add value for our manufacturing customers by helping them rethink traditional business models and meet their digital transformation goals.”
Most of the sensors that Molex will offer will be based on powerful custom chips (Asics) which help to achieve long operating distances and sensor lives. For difficult environments, the portfolio will include products with IP67, 68 and 69K protection ratings and Ecolab compliance.
The inductive range will include robust devices in one-piece stainless-steel housings, some with extra salt-water resistance and others with weld-field immunity. The photoelectric range includes transparent object sensors with patented UV technology as well as colour and contrast sensors.
For applications where space is limited, Molex will offer miniature, self-contained devices in diameters from 3mm (inductive) or 4mm (photoelectric). Like most sensors in the portfolio, these tiny devices will offer the option of an IO-Link interface for remote teaching, adjustment and monitoring of the sensors. The interface will allow sensor data to be integrated into IoT architectures for continuous monitoring and diagnosis.
“Contrinex is very excited to collaborate with Molex and have our inductive and photoelectric sensor ranges integrated into Molex industrial devices,” says the company’s CEO, Annette Heimlicher. “Molex offers industry-leading expertise and long-standing customer relationships, and together, we will help customers find optimum solutions for all sensing problems.”
Molex's deal with Contrinex gives its access to the Swiss sensor-maker's broad portfolio of sensing devices
Molex says that the collaboration with Contrinex will strengthen its IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) portfolio and position it as an end-to-end supplier for industrial automation applications. The sensors will help to analyse and communicate high-level data to cloud-based applications.
Through a combination of strategic acquisitions, collaborations and r&d, Molex has to expanded its industrial automation portfolio to address users’ needs for smart manufacturing and digital transformation. In 2013, Molex was acquired by Koch Industries.
As well as inductive and photoelectric sensors, Contrinex also produces safety and RFID systems, and has a range of around 6,000 products. Since its foundation in 1972, Contrinex has grown to become a multinational group with more than 500 employees worldwide.
