Laser Head Height Sensor – Looking for a Beta Tester

How is this sensor project going? I notice the product page still mentions out of stock. proma-elektronika.com/product/c2v-capitance-to-0-10v-converter/

Sorry I’ve been quiet for a while — I had to put the project on hold for some time, but I’ve just come back to it and I’m now moving it into production. It should be available within about two weeks.A new operating mode has been added, and in my case it works extremely well (I have my own CNC controller, so I can do whatever I want). It doesn’t require any data processing, because it receives the ready-to-use height directly from the sensor. This option might be useful for others in the future as well.The only drawback is that the output is a universal open-collector type, which isn’t a standard interface. However, I designed a simple circuit that converts the open-collector signal into a standard RS-485 signal. I calculated it, built it, tested it, and measured it — and it works perfectly. Over several hours of operation, not a single bit was lost on an unshielded cable (just a regular twisted-pair Ethernet cable) over a distance of more than 300 meters in an industrial environment. That exceeded my expectations.

 



 


CONVERTER SIMULATION

Unfortunately,  Rod couldn't continue testing this sensor with the Linux CNC.

So, I have a question:

Would anyone be willing to test the device?

I'm looking for someone with knowledge who will find the time to do so soon and share their honest observations here, especially the shortcomings.

New User Manual:
proma-elektronika.com/download/c2v_laser_sense_en.pdf

Thank you Tommy for your willingness to help—I appreciate it. However, these are different types of heads compared to industrial lasers for cutting steel. The test won't be conclusive.

Hi, we're interested in your height sensor and could test it for cutting metal (tool steel) but not familiar yet with LinuxCNC. 

The machine available for use right now uses a 1.5 kW laser, an Aerotech controller, and an optical height sensor, and it could be reconfigured to test your capacitive height sensor. If that is of use to you, please advise.

In any case, we're interested in this height sensor for possible use on upcoming projects, especially since our intention is to move towards LinuxCNC with future laser machines.

Hi, Unfortunately, I have no experience with Aerotech.
As I mentioned, the sensor was developed for my own needs, but I would like it to be easy to use also in open-source control systems such as LinuxCNC.
Trying to use it at this stage in closed, good working solutions does not make sense.
I appreciate your willingness to support me, but at this point it is not a good idea.

bcorley wrote:

A test device would be great. What information do you need to get it to me?

Are you still interested and would you have time to test the sensor?

If so, please contact me, preferably through the Proma-Elektronika contact page.

prokopcio wrote:

Hi, Unfortunately, I have no experience with Aerotech.
As I mentioned, the sensor was developed for my own needs, but I would like it to be easy to use also in open-source control systems such as LinuxCNC.
Trying to use it at this stage in closed, good working solutions does not make sense.
I appreciate your willingness to support me, but at this point it is not a good idea.

Understandable. I agree with the aim of validating the functionality of the sensor with open source controllers like LinuxCNC.

To clarify, the suggestion was not to validate use with Aerotech controllers. The thought was just that it should be simple enough to configure the analog input/output to use the sensor with the existing system available. That would allow testing the sensor's functionality under different conditions, if that would be of use to you.

Looking forward to seeing tests of this sensor by others with LinuxCNC-based laser systems.

phino wrote:

To clarify, the suggestion was not to validate use with Aerotech controllers. The thought was just that it should be simple enough to configure the analog input/output to use the sensor with the existing system available. That would allow testing the sensor's functionality under different conditions, if that would be of use to you.

It seems that I may not have fully understood what you expect and how you would like to test it.