Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2022 - 12

FEATURE ARTICLE
Magnetic Sensing by Variohm for Modern Agricultural Machinery
of sensor components, has undertaken a number of applications
with UK and European farm machinery manufacturers for
position, load, pressure and temperature sensors with almost
all of them installed in harsh outdoor environments where large
temperature extremes as well as severe shock and vibration
conditions exist, and upmost reliability is essential. Applications
range from angle sensors in sophisticated four-wheel steering
systems that allow farm machinery to precisely maneuver in
tight spaces for maximum crop yields to linear position and load
sensors that are part of advanced mobile autonomous vehicles
linked to the Global Navigation Satellite System for vehicle
guidance and load weight measurement.
As part of the many sensor technologies now widely employed
in smart farming, where sophisticated monitoring and control
is now universally applied to optimize crop production, mobile
agricultural machinery manufacturers are increasingly utilizing
precision sensors as part of the equipment and systems they
produce to till, seed and harvest crops. Magnetic sensors are
fielding many of the challenges.
Variohm EuroSensor, a sensor manufacturer and distributor
From Earth
The Standard in Magnetic Measurements
µMAG-01 Handheld
Magnetometer
* Single Axis
* 200,20 and 2µT Ranges
* 1 nT Resolution on 2µT Range
* +/-0.5% Accuracy
* 3 1/2 dig LCD Display
* Ambient Field Cancellation
* Analog Output
MEDA.COM
RM100 Nanotesla Meter
* ±200,000 nT Range
* ±0.01% Accuracy
* 0.1 nT Resolution
* RS232 & Ethernet Connectivity
* Ambient Field Cancellation
* LabView Driver
SALES@MEDA.COM
12 Magnetics Business & Technology * May/June 2022
FVM400 Vector Magnetometer
* 3-Axis
* ±100,000 nT Range
* ±0.25% Accuracy
* 1 nT Resolution
* RS232 Interface
These various types of sensors serve numerous measurement
tasks. Some are configured open loop with the position or
load information simply fed to a visual display to allow manual
operation of a process. Other automated and autonomous
machine tasks involve the sensing component as part of closed
loop systems where often multiple functions are synchronized,
for instance with vision systems and linear motion positioners
or rotary actuators for tasks such as in-row weeding or selective
crop harvesting. Some are potentiometric based sensors that
involve physical contact but many employ non-contact magnetic
technology or magnetic sensing with a degree of contact
involved.
For rotary angle sensing, Variohm employs two Hall Effect
technologies where there is no contact between a fixed sensing
element and a rotating magnet. While their way of sensing
is similar, one type is in an enclosed assembly complete with
703.996.8990
FAX: 703.996.8770
www.MagneticsMag.com
http://www.MEDA.COM http://www.MagneticsMag.com
Magnetics Business & Technology - May/June 2022

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