Banner Engineering

Canvas Category Hardware : Operational Technology : IIoT

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Primary Location Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

With more than 10,000 products, Banner is a leading source for your manufacturing needs. We offer products and solutions including award-winning sensors, wireless solutions, machine safety, indication and LED lighting.

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Eliminate Conveyor Jam False Alarms to Boost Factory Automation Productivity

📅 Date:

✍️ Author: Steven Keeping

🔖 Topics: Sensor Design, Conveyor System

🏢 Organizations: Digi-Key Electronics, Banner Engineering


Fast-moving conveyors are widely used in factory automation to accelerate production and enhance efficiency. But occasionally, things can go wrong. A frequent problem is jamming; one item gets stuck, and then others quickly pile up behind. This is not only bad for throughput and damaging to the conveyor system, but it can also be dangerous for nearby workers.

Recent laser sensor product introductions reduce the number of false alarms by leveraging more advanced optical technology and software algorithms. This article briefly describes the two types of light sensors used for jam detection: LED and lasers. It then focuses on the time-of-flight (ToF) laser and considers the key factors that determine how well the sensor performs. The article also introduces a real-world ToF laser sensor from Banner Engineering and illustrates how to set one up for a conveyor jam detection application.

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