Omron (Japan) - Industrial automation solutions provider Omron Automation Americas recently announced the release of its E2EW Series metal face proximity sensors that are designed to minimize downtime thanks to their durable construction and exceptionally long sensing range.

Manufacturers in the automotive industry are striving to make the most of the current trend towards electric vehicles and low fuel consumption by building lighter-weight vehicles and favoring aluminum over iron. As the prevalence of mixed production lines containing both iron and aluminum increases, the demand for same-sensing-distance proximity sensors with suitably long sensing ranges is also on the rise.

The new E2EW Series from end-to-end automation solutions provider Omron Automation Americas is designed to address this need. These highly durable, metal face proximity sensors boast the longest sensing range in their category to date, and they have been optimized to withstand the harsh conditions of typical automotive welding processes with a fluororesin coating that provides increased spatter resistance.

The sensing range of the E2EW Series is approximately twice as long as previous models for ferrous metals and six times as long as previous models for aluminum, making them the ideal solution for mixed-metal production lines. As the sensing ranges for both metals are now equivalent, the sensors support a common design for position detection in such lines. They also reduce unexpected facility stoppages by minimizing false detection for unsteady objects.

Features include:

• World’s longest sensing distances for both iron and aluminum. The equivalent sensing distances enable common design for position detection in mixed production lines containing both iron and aluminum components.
• Increased spatter resistance. The E2EW sensors last 60 times as long as previous models in typical automotive welding applications.
• IIoT-enabled with IO-Link. Support for IO-Link makes it possible to gather data on the detection level and temperature changes of proximity sensors from a single location in real time.