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Mind the Gap: Using Wireless Sensors to Measure Gaps Efficiently
Source: Sensors Online
The efficient production of high quality products requires constant attention to the production process, and testing must be done to insure quality standards are being met on an ongoing basis. In the automotive production process, careful attention should be paid to the gaps between body panels and doors. Minimally intrusive wireless sensors, capable of measuring these gaps, in both static and dynamic environments are needed to better document real performance and to insure quality standards are met. Our objective was to design, build, and test a high speed data collection and wireless data communications system, including micro miniature sensors, which are capable of placement in automotive body/door gaps, and which can be deployed in production and test environments.
A bi-directional RF communications link was used to trigger a sample to be logged (from 30 meters), as well as to request data to be transmitted to the host PC for data acquisition/analysis. Sweep rates of 2000 Hz were successfully demonstrated from strain gauges. The remote datalogger & transceiver & sensor package, including a rechargeable battery, measured 12 mm by 24 mm by 6 mm thick; these were mounted magnetically to the body panels and data were collected in static and wind tunnel environments.
These small, fast, wireless data recording systems have been demonstrated to be useful for efficiently monitoring gaps in automotive test environments. When combined with accelerometers and strain gauges, these same wireless data acquisition systems can be used to monitor rotating and vibrating machinery in civil, automotive, and aerospace applications.
Kelly M.Kohlstrand, Ford Motor Co.; Chris Danowski, Ford Global Technologies,LLC; Ingobert Schmadel, metronom U.S.,Inc.; Steve Arms, MicroStrain,Inc.
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