Rotating Sensor Mounts

Background

Coating thickness was the most important variable in the process we were doing. This thickness was measured using Keyence laser distance sensors, which can have incredible resolution and produce a readable thickness graph. However, when maintenance needs to be done, these sensors must be moved, and can shut down the production floor until they are reinstalled.

Solution

I created a rotating sensor housing for our pilot scale coater. This worked effectively enough that they tasked me with installing on on the main coater. For the main coater, I gathered all necessary measurements and designed it in SOLIDWORKS so that I would not need to slow production as I designed.

I used CNC processes for the rotating arms, and linear rails were used for the sensor to mount onto. I needed to machine specific holds for the CNC process to allow for holes to be drilled on an angled cut. To my knowledge, these sensor mounts are still being utilized on these machines