A simple yet important application in diary plants are milk storage tanks. Pressure transmitter are normally used to measure the level, based on the hydrostatic pressure exerted by the milk in the tank. The VEGABAR 38, a pressure transmitter from the German manufacturer VEGA, was aptly selected and installed in this prominent diary plant in Dubai. Being a running plant, VEGA’s universal adapters were used to retrofit to the existing hygienic fittings. Once installed, plant operators were satisfied to see that their tank volumes matched as their flowmeter discharged the milk to their trucks. This served Al Rawabi Dairy company on their commitment to have more redundancy in their measurements and control.
The new range of pressure transmitters from VEGA are equipped with Bluetooth, which helps the plant maintenance team to setup and diagnose these sensors wirelessly. Based on the innovations using Bluetooth, these devices can be setup using VEGA’s App on any smartphones instead of traditional bulky field communicators.
Learning how to use each and every manufacturer’s field communicator has always been a painful task in the industry. Using a simple smartphone to configure and access sensor parameters is a clear benefit for a maintenance team; facilitating the easy transfer of knowledge, saving time and money.
Additionally, apart from being a continuous measuring instrument, these pressure transmitters are available with two configurable switches for alarming or control.
The state of the switches are visible on the illuminated ring provided around the large well-lit display of the VEGABAR 38. Operators can easily understand if the tank is empty or full, in just a glimpse.
Against a backdrop of 60 years of experience in level and pressure measurement, VEGA's sensor portfolio stands for maximum process reliability and plant availability.
With its new compact series of VEGABAR pressure sensors and VEGAPOINT level switches, the instrumentation specialist has now advanced to full-range supplier for all applications in food production. These lower-priced instruments are aimed at standard applications in automation – and designed to precisely meet the latest requirements of the industry.
The convenience and reliability of the devices from VEGA were also standardized into the diary plant’s waste water treatment facility. With such feature packed and highly reliable transmitters, Al Rawabi Dairy company agreed to install another transmitter from VEGA’s last product release: a Radar sensor for level measurement - to replace failing ultrasonic level transmitters.
A State-of-The-Art Technology
Radar technology has undergone tremendous development in recent decades. While radar sensors were used mainly by the military in the past, today they are used in everyday applications, even in homes. Typical examples are motion detectors for door openers and complex distance sensors in vehicles. At the same time, radar technology has taken a giant leap forward in industrial applications, for level measurement in particular – notwithstanding that this requires significantly higher signal sensitivity.
From the factory in Schiltach located in the German Black Forests, VEGA has been developing sensors for radar level measurement for 30 years. When, just a few years ago, it introduced VEGAPULS sensors with 80-GHz operating frequency, another new era began. Thanks to the more precise focusing of the transmitted signal, the received measurement and interference signals can be better separated – this makes the measuring process much more reliable and easier. Many measuring tasks that had once been considered impossible became commonplace thanks to this technology. Radar sensors from VEGA are now in use in more than 750,000 applications worldwide.
Moreover, the cost for a Radar unit has drastically decreased over the years and standard versions can now be afforded for the same price than an ultrasonic sensor.
Radar is the better ultrasonic!
The 80-GHz Radar series offers a number of additional advantages compare to ultrasonic sensors. One of the most important is undoubtedly its independence from external conditions – the radar sensor is just as unaffected by temperature fluctuations, vacuum or high pressures as it is by dirt and contamination. As a result, the level sensors are virtually wear and maintenance free and remain in service for many years.
To measure the level, the wide basin was equipped with an ultrasonic sensor. But the reliability issues due to condensation, foam and ambient conditions like temperature were easily observable. Hydrostatic sensors were also tested, but required frequent cleaning due to the heavy sludge that collects at the bottom.
The VEGAPULS C21, a compact IP68 Radar with the latest 80 GHz high-frequency, was installed in this challenging application.
Plant operators could immediately see the difference with stable readings. From switching over from traditional ultrasonic technology that dominated the norms for years to the latest 80 GHz Radar, every customer could benefit from having no limitations or maintenance that they otherwise were bound to.
