Sensors and switches have transformed industries that store bulk materials in bins, silos, and tanks. Simply detecting the presence of material opens automation like turning conveyors on and off, and alerting employees to possible overfills or empty vessels.
Operational Technology--the practice of using hardware and software to control industrial equipment--continues to grow. Data from level, dust, or flow sensors can interact with the physical world with processing equipment, programmable logic controllers, distributed control systems, supervisory control, and data acquisition systems. OT helps reduce inefficiencies, prevent errors, and enables plants to do more work with fewer people
“We’re providing, ‘the switch’ for many industries like agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and construction,” said Matt Virgillito, International Sales. “With so many different types of bulk material properties, BinMaster adapts and applies technology to perform reliably in diverse environments. We can offer capacitance probes for certain types of plastics or rotaries for more common agricultural grains.”
Virgillito said customers looking for level measurements aren’t always aware of entire processes and be automatically controlled to avoid overfilling or running out of product. Conveyors, slide gates, rotary valves, and more can be wired to be turned on or off by BinMaster point-level sensors.
IoT and OT CONVERGE
Cloud-based data and measurement are staples of Industry 4.0. It’s called the Internet of Things. BinMaster embraces IoT and operation technology solutions (aka hybrid cloud systems.
Some companies, for example, rely on an NCR-80 radar to continuously measure their silos and bins. This allows operators to anticipate material ordering days or weeks ahead, providing strategic savings on everything from labor to trucking to reducing safety stock and carrying costs. Those same bins might have a diaphragm switch installed as a fail-safe system to prevent overflows or detect empty vessels during particularly busy seasons.
CONSIDERING YOUR SYSTEM
BinMaster technology and sales professionals consult with customers to determine needs. Customers can help by imagining automation. For OT (interacting with physical systems) BinMaster will typically suggest point-level sensors like rotaries, probes, and vibrating rods. IoT level detection (providing data via the cloud to your team), usually involves non-contact continuous-level sensors with radar or acoustic technology combined with BinCloud inventory management software.
Remember, imagine automation and ask BinMaster.
