LW21 use cases
The right level for a flawless transport of sugar beets
Sugar is an important ingredient in almost all foods and beverages. It intensifies flavours, influences colour, texture and truly provides a taste experience. The basis for this is a natural source: the sugar beet. As the world’s leading producer of beet sugar, Südzucker provides its customers with this ingredient in the best quality.
During the sugar production process, the beet goes through a variety of processing steps from the field to the consumer.
One of them is the transportation of the sugar beet for further processing after delivery by the farmer. The freshly delivered beets first go through a water bath and are then conveyed to the next processing step in which the dirt residue is removed from the beets.
Two large pumps submerged in a pump pit ensure the delivery. The LW2120 radar level sensor is installed in the pump pit. It monitors the water level and regulates the floating pump that pumps water out of the pit when the water level rises. In the past, float switches were used, but they would often be clogged with leaves or dirt and prevented the floating pump from switching on.
As a result, the pump pit would fill up with water and the pump motors would be damaged.
Non-contact level measurement in the IBC racking system
In a project to redesign the IBC racking system, our customer was looking for the most efficient level monitoring solution possible while also allowing flexible handling of the IBC containers.
In the past, level monitoring of the viscous medium was associated with problems because the medium clung to the measuring elements and regular maintenance and cleaning were required. Today, the customer monitors the level without contact using radar level sensors that are installed on the racking system above the IBC containers. This means that the IBC containers can be flexibly removed from the racking system as required without having to remove the measuring instruments. Not to forget: The installed mixers of the IBCs are no problem for the LW2120 because they are automatically suppressed by the intelligent algorithm.
Thanks to bidirectional communication via IO-Link, the customer can display all IBC containers via the HMI, view the process values and teach in the setting parameters of the sensors and adjust them if necessary. In addition, the volume and weight of the medium can be determined via the current level and by entering the container size and media density.
Level monitoring in the quenching oil buffer tank
Our customer manufactures a wide range of large castings as part of its cast steel production. The castings are placed in a tank of quenching oil to harden. The volume of the casting forces some of the quenching oil into a separate buffer tank. The level of the buffer tank is monitored closely because a pump is controlled based on the level, and this pump is used to pump the quenching oil from the buffer tank to another buffer tank.
The LW2120 radar level sensor reliably monitors the level. Special feature: The sensor is installed in a thermowell that protrudes 0.5 m out of the tank and continues 2.5 m almost to the tank floor.
In such complex installations, the free ifm Vision Assistant software offers support by enabling the sensor to be configured, an upper blind area to be set and the sensor behaviour to be displayed in real time.
This helps to prevent measurement errors and guarantees accurate level detection. And the measurement results confirm that the measurement is always reliable across the entire level range.
Non-contact radar measurement in tanks
For more than 30 years, EnviroFALK GmbH has been designing, manufacturing and selling pure and ultra-pure water systems for a wide range of industries worldwide. For non-contact level monitoring in tanks, EnviroFALK uses the LW2120 radar level sensor.
The sensor can detect levels up to a height of 10 metres without blind zones and at a millimetre resolution. The 80 GHz frequency used ensures stable and precise measurement results even in confined spaces. With the antenna extension, available as an accessory, the sensor can also be used outside closed metal tanks, for example on open tubs or plastic tanks.
Standard M12 connection technology ensures error-free installation within minutes, while IO-Link adds the convenience of remote parameter setting and reading. The intelligent algorithm in the unit makes parameter setting via IO-Link seem like child’s play: After setting the reference height once, the sensor immediately provides the exact level via IO-Link.
