Photoelectric sensors suit food manufacturing machinery

Paul Boughton

Sick's new MH15V photoelectric sensors are aimed at applications in the food and beverage industries, where hygiene compliance and high reliability are essential.

The sensors feature compact 316L stainless steel housings, good application versatility and sealing to IP69K (DIN 40050). With wide temperature capability and resistance to standard industrial detergents and cleaning solutions (certified by Ecolab and JohnsonDiversey standards), they also benefit from food-compliant housings and FDA-certified plastic watertight plug cap and cabling. Additional reliability is provided by corrosion-resistant gold-plated connections.

Phil Dyas, Sick UK's sensors product manager, says: "Under tough food and beverage manufacturing conditions it is essential for sensors like the MH15V to maximise plant availability and reduce pressure on margins through high reliability. By comparison, the cost of sensors is very small indeed."

Robust and compact, the MH15V is claimed to be one of the shortest M18 diameter photoelectric sensors on the market, and is suitable for tight spaces where optical sensing has traditionally been a problem. For added application versatility, the MH15 can be used as a proximity switch with a range of 100mm or 350mm, as a reflex switch to 5m or as a through-beam sensor with a remote receiver to 5m.

For more information, visit www.sick.de