Our customer manufactures machines for loading produce into bags at preset weights. A conveyor carries the produce to the bag. The conveyor speed controller slows the conveyor when the bag nears the required weight. The bag is hung from a load cell which feeds the weight to the Tiger 320 meter controller. When the bag is near the required weight, a setpoint in the meter slows the conveyor. When the bag reaches the required weight, the meter automatically compensates for produce inertia and determines when to stop the conveyor and close the conveyor feed gate. The display flashes between "BAGFUL" and "WEIGHT".
The operator unclamps the bag, and the meter counts and totalizes the bag number from the bag clamp microswitch pulse. The operator fits a new bag and the clamp closes after a 1 second delay to stabalize the load cell.
The Tiger 320 Series controller using a pH sensor input module operates directly with standard pH sensor outputs.
For quick and easy sensor calibration, the Tiger 320 Series controller has On-demand single and two-point calibration functions from the front panel program button.
Our customer has a motor generator in a large room. The room temperature is controlled by opening and closing ventilation louvers using a forward and reverse motor. When the temperature rises above the setpoint, the louver actuator motor operates for a programmed ON-time opening the louvers 10 degrees. After a programmed OFF-time, if the temperature is still above the high setpoint, the louvers open in 10 degree degree increments until the temperature falls below the high setpoint.
Our customer operates a fruit packhouse. His customers deliver their fruit in large bins for grading, packing and distribution.
The full bins are loaded onto a conveyer and then transferred to a load cell weighing platform.
The bin raises to a weigh position and then stops. After a 1 second delay (load cell to stabilize) the full bin is weighed. The bin then raises and tips the produce onto a second grading conveyer. The bin then returns to the load cell weigh position and stops. After a 1 second delay the empty bin is weighed.
Our customer requires a quality control test for watt/hour rating of electrical appliances. The test is carried out over 5 minutes. A Texmate DI-50E meter with a watt input module is installed. The meter is programmed to totalize the watt/hours when the start button is pressed. The meter totalizes the watts for 5 minutes and the watt/hour rating is held on the display.
Our customer operates an automatic cut-to-length guillotine. A Texmate 320 Series programmable meter controller has been installed and programmed to measure length from an encoder input. Setpoint 1 is programmed to operate at the required cut-off length. A clutch and a clamp operate to stop the metal feed motor.
Our customer requires varying amounts of primary and secondary chemicals to be mixed by ratio. To improve mixing, accuracy and save time, the ratio calculation is automatically performed by a macro.
A container is placed on a weighing platform and the platform is tared to 0. The primary product is poured into the container. The operator enters the required mix ratio and presses the start button.
Our customer manufactures machines for applying labels to cans. They require a controller to control the temperature of the glue and glue roller. The controller also needs to control the length of time the feed mechanism operates to feed the label over the glue roller and spin the can to apply the label.
Texmate installed a Tiger 320 Series DI-503 3-display programmable meter controller (PMC). Two thermocouple inputs control the temperature of the glue and the glue roller and inhibit the machine so that it will not operate unless the glue temperature is within set limits.
A timer controls the clutch, which controls the label feed and can spin time. The timer is configured for 0.001 seconds resolution and is easily adjustable by the operator.
Our customer operates a gas dispenser that fills gas cylinders of unknown volume and calculates the cost in dollars.
The meter automates the control process through a macro. In the diagram below, both valves 1 and 2 are CLOSED at the beginning of the process (the default position). When the hose connects to the gas cylinder, the safety switch triggers the macro. Valve 1 OPENS, pressurizing the small reference cylinder of known capacity, and the meter stores the pressure data measured from the pressure transducer.
It is no longer necessary to use combinations of transducers to achieve a power measurement and control system.
A Texmate Tiger 320 Series DI-503 meter, installed with a single-phase power input module, calculates and displays volts, amps, Hz, watts, watt hours, and power factor from a single-phase 2 or 3-wire voltage and current input.
Outdoor growers in intermittent or low rainfall areas require irrigation controllers. The controller input is usually from a tipping bucket rain gauge or a flow sensor.
Control requirements: If more than X amount of rain falls within a programmed time, the irrigation cycle is interrupted. If Y amount more rain falls within the programmed Off-time, the irrigation cycle is interrupted for a longer time.
Our customer requires water balance studies of water resource allocation for crop management to maximize crop yeild and reduce irrigation costs. A weather station with a Tiger 320 Series controller is set up in a vineyard to measure solar radiation, wind speed, rainfall, and air temperature. A macro installed in the meter and generated by the Texmate Development Software program calculates daily evapotranspiration.
Our customer requires an energy efficient method of gently heating and cooling viscous solutions to assist the mixing process in the food and cosmetic industries.
With the mounting pressure to clean up the atmosphere, many local authorities are now legislating the maximum density of smoke released into the atmosphere from chimneys. They now require chimney output opacity (smoke density) and temperature to be monitored, averaged and recorded at one minute intervals with a date and time stamp.
As a programmable meter controller (PMC), the Tiger 320 Series is adaptable to one-off final assembly and quality control test jigs. The modular design of the PMC and the vast choice of input signal conditioning modules, allows production engineers to overcome many quality control challenges.
Paddlewheel and turbine flow sensors are similar in operation as they rely on the energy in the flow stream to spin the rotor. The spinning rotor generates either a sinusoidal or square wave output.
Our customer has a greenhouse. The greenhouse temperature is controlled by opening and closing the roof vents using a forward and reverse motor. When the temperature rises above the setpoint, the vent actuator motor operates for a programmed ON-time opening the vents 10 degrees.
After a programmed OFF-time, if the temperature is above the high / high setpoint, the vents open in 20 degree increments until the temperature falls below the high setpoint.
Our customer has greenhouses. The greenhouse temperatures are controlled by opening and closing the roof vents using a forward and reverse motor. When the temperature rises above the setpoint, the vent actuator motor operates for a programmed ON-time opening the vents 10 degrees.
After a programmed OFF-time, if the temperature is above the high setpoint, the vents open in 20 degree increments until the temperature falls below the high setpoint.
Bubbler systems are ideal for level measurement of open channel run off systems or duct and tank situations where debris, foam, steam, or surface turbulance makes standard methods of level measurement impractical.
O2 is an important parameter to measure and control in kilns and furnaces. The diagram below shows the Tiger 320 Series DI-50 controller connected to a Zirconia O2 sensor with a built-in thermocouple.
The controller calculates the O2 level from the temperature and mV level of the sensor. The result is then displayed on the controller.
Wet and dry bulb humidity measurement, using two temperature sensor probes, is perhaps the most reliable method of accurately calculating humidity for low temperature applications in industry today. Both sensors are mounted close together, with one designated the dry bulb sensor and the other the wet bulb sensor. The wet bulb is kept wet using a moistened cotton wick.
The wet bulb is cooled relative to the dry bulb by heat loss due to moisture evaporation from the wet bulb wick. The rate of evaporation is dependent on the ambient temperature and humidity.
In many industrial applications it is necessary to be able to control a device manually. Often a potentiometer or rotary switch is used, but this method can be too coarse and not easily repeatable. Texmate have developed a versatile and easy-to-use selection of manual stations, using their Tiger 320 Series controller, that produce an accurate, digitally controlled and scaled 4 to 20 mA or 0 to 10 V output.
Frostmate is an integrated frost risk management system that reduces the risk of frost damage to an orchardist's crop. A sophisticated control and monitoring system constantly monitors the orchard environment combining both temperature and humidity to deliver a reliable prediction of frost conditions. When frost damage is imminent, the Frostmate automatically initiates the timely delivery of water spray to the area at risk, raising the humidity level. Water delivery is maintained in a continuous cycle to the affected zones until the frost conditions have abated, ensuring better crop protection and conserving resources such as water and power.