Plug and play in production monitoring: Intelligent sensors ensure rapid setup times and drastic cost savings

The "Transducer Electronic Datasheet" (TEDS), which has proved itself consistently in test bench technology, offers interesting options for minimizing setup times, particularly in the manufacturing environment.

Sensors are an essential tool for quality assurance in production and manufacturing – for example in monitoring joined connections. At the same time, simple handling and robustness are expected from the measurement technology.

In particular, installation should of course be rapid and error-free, to enable production to be restarted immediately. The "Transducer Electronic Datasheet" (TEDS), which has proved itself consistently in test bench technology, offers interesting options for minimizing setup times, particularly in the manufacturing environment. Intelligent transducers equipped with TEDS automatically configure the measurement system - the plug-and-play era has finally begun in production monitoring.

From a mechanical aspect, the integration of sensors into manufacturing equipment does not usually pose a problem. However, the adjustment of the amplifier to match the sensor characteristics is a task that should not be underestimated. This requires staff familiar with both sensor technology and with the operation of the amplifier itself. And even for well-trained measurement engineers, installation of a complete measurement chain is a time-consuming task that often requires interruption of the entire production and manufacturing process. Short setup and maintenance times must therefore be top criteria in the selection of the right measurement technology in order to avoid high follow-up costs.

Plug in and start measuring

A sensor that automatically configures the connected amplifier would not only drastically shorten installation times, it would also ensure more reliable measurement results. When this sensor also included all essential information - calibration data, serial number, type name, measuring point - as standard on a small memory chip, then nothing would stand in the way of the "connect and start measuring" principle. This is not even a futuristic idea because the plug-and-play principle has now conquered measurement technology thanks to the Transducer Electronic Datasheet (TEDS) chip.

The TEDS chip is a tiny, non-volatile electronic memory module – an EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) – on which all relevant sensor data is stored. In addition to the above-mentioned information, other examples of data that can be stored are the excitation voltage to be used, the date of the last calibration and the initials of the institute or service provider (e.g. the HBM calibration laboratory) which carried out the calibration.

Increased security for your measurement task

y guarantees simplified and secure measurement in the application: The main characteristics of the sensor are stored on the TEDS, the amplifier reads them and sets itself accordingly. All this is possible without changes to the wiring, i.e. no additional leads to the sensor are necessary. In order to use TEDS, the amplifier must simply be capable of reading the TEDS.

TEDS is an industry-wide accepted standard, not restricted solely to HBM products. This means that transducers and sensors of other manufacturers can also be connected via TEDS.

Immense savings potential in production and manufacturing

In addition to the drastically simplified installation and resulting time-savings, TEDS offers numerous other savings advantages: If a sensor fails, it can be identified and replaced immediately. Tiresome searching and the consequent interruption of production now definitely belong to the past. The sensor can also be replaced by an untrained employee as the measurement chain does not have to be adjusted. By simply activating the "Use TEDS automatically" function the amplifier will read the TEDS information from the sensor and set itself accordingly. This guarantees rapid setup and maintenance times.

Simple TEDS retrofitting

Even adding TEDS to existing measurement systems is a simple matter. The chip is so compact that it can easily be inserted in the plug or cable of the transducer. Numerous companies have already recognized that retrofitting intelligent transducers offers excellent opportunities for increasing efficiency. The TEDS standard is based on the IEEE 1451.4 industrial standard and HBM was significantly involved in the development of this norm.

TEDS advantages at a glance:

• Cost-savings through drastically reduced setup times and faster measurements thanks to plug-and-measure technology
• Avoidance of longer production downtimes through reduced maintenance time and less maintenance outlay thanks to improved diagnostic options (transducer replacement)
• Error-free configuration of the measurement system
• Greater reliability and improved traceability of measurement results thanks to unique identification and use of calibration data.

TEDS dongle for writing your own data

Do you have special requirements, like wanting to write your own data into the TEDS chip, or copy existing TEDS templates? This is easy using the TEDS dongle which permits reading/writing of TEDS information to the memory chip. This means that TEDS templates can be easily transferred to new sensors or archived on a connected PC.

The dongle is simply connected to a Windows PC via the USB port. An additional voltage supply is not necessary. The necessary software, the "TEDS Editor", can be found – free of charge – on the CD-ROM (included with the delivery) or downloaded from www.hbm.com/support. Characteristic values can also be edited by users with further requirements, for example, if a force transducer needs to be used in a force shunt. It is also possible to specify a filter frequency for the application or assign a channel name.

Reference number: 1786