Comparing Splitter Models

As always, check out www-api-usa.com to find out more about us and our signal conditioners and pressure gauges (we think we're pretty cool), or call us at 800-942-0315 for application assistance.

Most process signals and sensors are connected directly to a controller or monitoring device input. In some applications, however, it is desirable to split the process or sensor signal into two independent signals. 


When you are choosing a splitter, you must know which input and output types you require for your process.  

Helpful guidelines to follow:

• Our line includes most sensors or process signal input types. Specify what signal input type. We offer:
  • DC Voltage or Current
  • RTDs
  • Strain Gages (Load Cells)
  • AC Voltage or Current
  • Frequency
  • Potentiometer
  • Thermocouples (very rare in the industrial marketplace)
• Outputs can be configured independently for a wide variety of voltage or current ranges, not just 4-20mA. Most customers are clear on their output type, but our engineers can also assist you in choosing the correct one.

What is unique about the API signal splitter line, and what sets it apart from many others, is that the input is not limited to a current input (i.e. 4-20 mDC). 

When you are ordering, make sure you are very specific about the input type you require. We will guide you through this process. You may see a "Universal Splitter!" advertised, when the product actually offers the (exceptionally common but not exactly universal) 4-20 mA DC input.

APD 4930 - IsoSplitter® - DC->DC Signal Isolator-Splitter

Our newest IsoSplitter® is in a slim 22.5mm DIN housing, featuring factory-ranged output and field-rangeable input. The perfect and economical choice for the engineer, manager, or tech who knows exactly what he or she needs. 

·     Most economical splitter option
·     Remote output test
·     Wire for sink or source input
·     Optional sinking output
·     Independent output zero/span controls
·      LoopTracker® output LEDs
·      *Universal power
·      Full isolation: input-outputs, output-output and power-to-input as well as power-to-outputs.

APD 4393 - IsoSplitter® - DC->DC Signal Isolator-Splitter

Our standard IsoSplitter® comes in a 45mm DIN housing and has a number of on-board troubleshooting and configuration features and benefits, ideal for the engineer or tech who wants to have options in the field.

·     UL-approved
·     Adjustable local and remote output test
·     I/O Sink/source versatility
·     Independent output zero/span controls
·     Reverse acting output option
·     Input and output LEDs
·      *Universal power
·     Full isolation: input-outputs, output-output and power-to-input as well as power-to-outputs.

 

Additional Splitter models

APD 1393** - One RTD Input to Two DC Outputs

APD 3393** - One Potentiometer Input to Two DC Outputs

APD 5393** - One Strain Gauge Input to Two DC Outputs

APD 6393** - One AC Input to Two DC Outputs

APD 7393** - One Frequency Input to Two DC Outputs

Z170REG-1 (17.5mm) - Multiple Input Types to Two DC Outputs (call factory)

TCS726 - T/C Input to Two T/C Outputs -OR- One T/C Output and One DC Output (call factory)

 *Universal power 85-265 VAC, 60-300 VDC; D-option 9-30 VAC/VDC

**UL-approved

And remember, we are a "custom engineering house that happens to have a product catalog." If you need something you do not see, please give us a call (847-918-3510) and let our experienced engineering team help you solve your problem.

Analog vs. Digital Pressure Gauges: An Important Distinction

As always, check out www.cecomp.com to find out more about us and our gauges (we're pretty cool), or call us at 800-942-0315 for application assistance.

Ok, so let's face it. Digital pressure gauges are just more expensive than analog gauges. 

Before and After!

So why the heck would I need a digital gauge when my analog (dial) gauge is working just fine? 


The short answer is:

1. An analog may not be working fine at all and you may never know it.
2. A rugged, durable digital gauge - with a warranty - will pay for itself in a very short period of time.
 

The long answer is...

Accuracy  - Digital pressure gauges are far more accurate than analog gauges.

• Analog gauges-The rule of thumb with analog pressure gauges is that when the operating pressure of the system is normal, the needle should be pointing straight up or in the “twelve o’clock” position. So since the accuracy of most dial pressure gauges is best in the middle third of a gauge, you have to always select a gauge with a range that is about twice your normal operating pressure.

• Digital gauges – The rule of thumb with digital pressure gauges is that you match the maximum pressure that you are measuring to the pressure of the gauge. Standard accuracy for Cecomp digital pressure gauges is 0.25% of the full scale of the gauge but most ranges are available at 0.1% accuracy so you will automatically have better accuracy since the range is only what you are measuring NOT twice the normal operating pressure.

Readability

• Analog gauges are often misread due to a parallax issue (the phenomenon whereby a gauge dial appears to the user to be in one position from one angle and another position from another angle).
• Digital gauges have a digital readout so there are no parallax problems and no counting hashes when taking a reading

Repairability

• Should a digital gauge be physically damaged (i.e. punctured display or faceplate/keypad) the calibration is typically not affected and they can be repaired at a nominal cost

Durability

• Due to the solid state design, digital pressure gauges can be used in high vibration applications. The display will hold steady while an analog gauge needle may bounce around and make it difficult to take an accurate reading.

Units of Measurement

• Analog gauge units of measurement, also called engineering units, are not changeable in the field. The dial face would have to be reprinted and replaced to change engineering units. Cecomp digital pressure gauges allow the user to change engineering units, set the battery on/off time, and digitally calibrate the gauge.

Calibration

• Digital gauges will withstand considerable shock, vibration, and abuse without losing calibration. Analog gauges are most often “out of calibration” after the first time they are dropped or banged around.
• Digital pressure gauges are so much more accurate than analog that our customers often use our gauges as test gauges for analogs. The rule of thumb for checking instruments is a 4:1 ratio. Since analog gauges are most often 2% (or worse) accuracies, a 0.25% digital gauge is more than accurate enough for this purpose.

Costs 

• Analog gauges are less expensive initially; however, analog gauges fail often and are unreliable when subjected to shock and normal abuse. It is often necessary to buy several gauges per year. Digital gauges, if properly maintained, will last several years. 

 
Digital pressure gauges, due to superior accuracy, are often used as “gauge standards” to test analog gauges to determine their accuracy and if they are operating properly. If running a whole plant on digital is impossible, having digital TEST GAUGES on hand for can significantly improve an entire system or plant's accuracy.

Pressure Under the Wings

Ok, full disclosure: I happen to be flying next week, so this post might be a little biased.

When us marketing folks go to work, we look at pictures of other people, diagrams and flow charts, and, if we're lucky, maybe of the gear that we sell. I happen to look at pictures of pressure gauges a lot.

Knowing that I'm flying, I gotta admit it's a relief to say I know our gentleman engineer, Terry, who designs our pressure gauges. I can't wait for the day I look out of the plane window and see our flat-sided gauge and bright orange rubber boot checking the tire, strut or brake pressures on a neighboring aircraft. Besides it being a matter of company pride, I know the people who build and calibrate our gauges and I know I'd be safe relying on their work.

I realized the other day that not everyone knows the difference between a high-quality pressure gauge and a regular $50 analog gauge, so I thought I'd share some of our internal gearhead knowledge with you!

DPG2000B Digital Pressure Gauge

To the left is a picture of one of our gauges. This one happens to be a DPG2000B, the one that a certain major airline manufacturer located in Washington state recommends on their drawings that maintenance techs use.

Toasted Marshmallow Gauge

To the right is a picture of what we call our toasted marshmallow gauge. Believe it or not, it's the same gauge as the DPG2000B above, only this one kind of got blown out of the back of a jet engine after it was accidentally left inside.

Aaaand it stayed perfectly calibrated. For all you non-techies out there, that means that it was accurate before it was super-heated, and it was just as accurate afterwards. More on cal stuff later, I promise I'm not just bragging.

OEM Manufacturing and Growth: A How-To

Like many of you, our customers often buy our products to install directly into new and often exciting OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) products. Many are SMBs, just as we are.

You see, we get very excited to see what our OEM customers are developing! They know their customers, and they know their products. Often these OEMs are solving problems that companies have been having for years. New sensor equipment now determines within millimeters the correct fill of a bottle of soda or water. A different company might be determining highly accurate pressures for creating exact pill density for the pharmaceutical industry. 

But how in the world does a company determine what problem to solve next?

 
In reality, many of us intuitively know how to embark on this process. The question becomes, how do we translate that intuition into a corporate structure?

The process is very nicely summed up in the article "Are you sure you want to innovate like a startup?" The piece was co-authored by Aldo de Jong and Harry Wilson from Claro Partners and Pascal Bouvier, fintech venture capital investor. http://bit.ly/Corp_v_startup

In a nutshell, the article discusses the difference between the way that startups innovate, and the way that corporations innovate. The former has begun to influence the latter, and the article outlines some pitfalls that may occur. Taking the article's advice verbatim may be easier for very large companies, since many of us can't afford to create entire research arms of our companies, but at the root of it all is this: Know. Your. Audience.

“One of the classic lean startup fables is Airbnb’s experiment to hire professional photographers to shoot each listing, resulting in a 2-3X increase in bookings - but where did this hypothesis come from? 

Back when Airbnb was all air mattresses and Obama-branded cereal, their co-founders traveled to New York City, met every single host, lived with them, and wrote their first reviews. Their ‘aha’ moment was seeing the mismatch of grainy photos compared to the real home; this insight gave life to what was, on paper, a mad experiment to run. As a human-centered designer, Brian Chesky lives this philosophy up to today (with guests on his couch every night). It’s this customer immersion that informs the lean experiments that have made Airbnb so different, and successful.”

Those of us in charge of gathering this knowledge and are doing this on-the-ground research for our own OEM development must find the balance point between knowledge and discovery. In other words, time is money, and the next time, Chesky may not have stayed with each and every host to determine his growth point.

Next steps, then, are clear.

Don't guess. 

Meet customers, talk to them, spend time at their facilities, and find out what is going on at the ground level. Find your own Aha! moment that good, clean research can provide.

Loops and Noise and Power (oh my!)

We love to look forward. It's exciting to see what is possible that a few years ago was only sci-fi.

With that in mind, I would encourage you to remember that 1. we are still operating in the real world and 2. we still have to deal with physics. A few 'pro tips' that seem basic that we find people forget every day. Think the IoT is magic? It is! But physics. Still. Applies. Sorry!

Well, I can't offer chocolate as a consolation over a blog, but I can offer a few tips to soothe the reality check blues:

We are still dealing with different grounds. We have to keep the basic laws of electricity in mind even as we are going wireless and are able to read our data in the cloud as well as locally. Don't forget that our signals are still originating from a machine that is tied to its own earth potential, and it doesn't matter how IoT-enabled your plant is - if you have ground loop issues, that fancy cloud data is inaccurate. Read about ground loops here.



Wireless creates a different kind of noise. The more wireless devices we have, the more electronic 'noise' we might see interfering with machinery, sensors, or other devices in your factory. Important not to forget this factor as we troubleshoot new IoT gear.

Everything needs power. Seems simple. It's not. As we move towards more IoT-enabled equipment, we need to keep in mind that everything needs power, and our infrastructure has to expand to meet those new power demands on all levels. An IoT-enabled sensor requires more power to send a data stream to one more outlet, while all along the data path we must transmit said data. Battery-powered IoT devices really expose this weak spot.

Data compression can help as can reducing monitoring during down-times, but we also need to demand efficiency and low-power solutions as we investigate IoT solutions - it will help in the long run.

The Basics of Signal Conditioning

We hope you find this presentation useful. It is a teaching tool for engineers and plant managers who want to learn the basics of signal isolation / conditioning.

Ideal if you are a industrial, mechanical, or chemical specialist or engineer who finds yourself in a position of managing production lines, plants, or facilities outside of your field of expertise.

We think you will also find it very helpful in understanding how to maximize your PLC or DAQ. Signal splitting, conversion, isolation, or conditioning is something that is plaguing those converting to smart systems as it has since the beginning of electrical engineering in industrial applications. Find out how you can apply it to your plant.

For questions or concerns about your specific signal isolation or conditioning application, you can always call us at 800-942-0315, 8am-5pm M-F CST.

Basics of signal_conditioning_absolute_processinstruments2016sept from Cara Sawyer