Linear and rotary position sensors company Alliance Sensors Group (ASG) announced its partnership in May with electronics distributor Component Distributors to distribute the group’s in-cylinder linear variable inductive transducer (LVIT) position sensors in North America.

ASG’s LVIT in-cylinder sensors were designed for the fluid power, mobile hydraulic and off-road vehicle markets, and offer the flexibility and performance of an inductive contactless sensor with the ruggedness common in resistive- style sensors. The product line has port-mount and embedded versions, with numerous analogue outputs, and requires no magnet to operate.

“I have had the pleasure of working with Component Distributors numerous times in the past. “Their professionalism and customer service are second to none and we, at ASG, are extremely excited about being able to partner with such a notable organisation,” says ASG sales and marketing VP John Matlack.

Component Distributors is a value-added distributor of metrology and position feedback sensors, as well as power, radio- frequency, microwave and wireless products for simple to complex system applications.

Meanwhile, ASG announced in February the introduction of the SS-7 series LVIT, designed for submarine environments and oil and gas exploration. Its ruggedness, ease of installation and ability to simply set end points in the field significantly lowers cost of ownership without sacrificing accuracy specifications.

The SS-7 is designed to be embedded into a hydraulic cylinder and uses the gun-drilled piston rod as a target, sensing its position without the need for a magnet. The SS-7 series can be submerged to a depth of 12 000 ft or installed in a pressure-balanced, oil-filled chamber to provide position feedback on blow-out preventers, remotely operated underwater vehicles and relief valves.

The SS-7 series LVIT contains a 316 stainless steel 25-mm-diameter housing and boasts measurement ranges from 25 mm to 600 mm. The unit can also operate to 5 200 psi or at a depth of 3 000 m. The contactless design of the series also means no wear.

The SenSet field-adjustable scaling SS-7 sensors use a simple coil design rather than time-of-flight technology or resistive film. The sensor is based on contactless LVIT inductive sensing technology that employs a solid probe construction style, which requires only a simple conductive tubular target or a small-diameter gun-drilled hole in the cylinder rod for operation rather than a permanent magnet ring or another type of special target.

The SS-7 series and its sister products, the ME-7, MR-7, and MHP-7, not only withstand intense shock and vibration but can also operate in environments of up to 105 °C with the extended range option.

The 25.4-mm-diameter sensor head is compact, allowing for efficient use of space. It is mounted with common male O-ring SAE-8 port threads and has an excellent stroke-to-length ratio. The SS-7 and all ASG LVITs are offered with ASG’s proprietary SenSet calibration feature, enabling users to match the analogue output of the sensor to the motion of the actuator or cylinder on a standalone basis, rather than users having to scale the sensor’s basic output in an associated control system.

Meanwhile, ASG announced in January the expansion of the ME, MR and MHP series linear position sensors used to measure the ram position of hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders in industrial, mobile or subsea applications.

With no magnet required, the installation and cost of ownership are dramatically reduced without sacrificing accuracy specifications. The ME embedded version, the MR port-mount version and the MHP port-mount 25 mm hex housing series fit into a gun-drilled cylinder in the same way a magnetostrictive sensor would be installed, but without the counterbore necessary for the magnet.

About ASG
Headquartered in Moorestown, New Jersey, in the US, ASG is a position sensor manufacturing company offering engineering and application support in solving position-measurement challenges in the power generation, fluid power and manufacturing industries.