Inclinometer with remote display

[Jim G.]

OT - I have an application using an inclinometer to help position the angle of a die head for extruding adhesive in a coating process. The current setup has been cobbled together over the years to provide a digital readout, which does not display the angle. It displays a number which is interpreted as corresponding to a certain angle. The output of the inclinometer is 0-5 vdc which is sent through a signal conditioner to convert it to 4-20mA, and this signal is sent to a Red Lion panel meter to give a numerical readout. The system has become very unstable and not repeatable when setting the angle of the die head. Currently the operators are using a digital protractor to set up their angle.
I am looking for a new system to install or at least something that works better than the old system.

Has anyone had to deal with something like this?

Trying to improve on an old setup.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[Ken Roach]

What's the form-factor or material of the existing inclinometer ? Is it mounted vertically or horizontally ? Does it have to withstand high temperatures or high vibration ?

How much precision do you need ?

I strongly prefer digital signals, so I would go after this with an inclinometer that supported Modbus RTU or SSI.

For example, you could connect a Posital TILTIX inclinometer with an RS485 Modbus RTU slave output to a digital display that has Modbus RTU Master functionality. Any of the smallest Red Lion or PanelView Component or C-More HMI's will have that feature.

Precision Digital's PD6088 might also do the job, as it can be a Modbus RTU Master. It's a successor to their nifty PD865 "Snooper" serial display.

 

[chud]

You can put this type of display in series with the inclinometer. It then has digital or analog outputs to repeat the signal to its original destination