Sensors play a crucial role in every stage of the process; the operation of a smart factory is essentially the collection, analysis, and processing of data. In current smart manufacturing, they are the brain and heart of process control and networked operations. Sensors are not only the eyes and ears for collecting data, but also essential components of advanced manufacturing.
Application requirements of industrial sensors in intelligent manufacturing
Industrial sensors not only have high performance requirements, serving as a key factor in evaluating the completeness of a country's industrial system, but they are also highly complex in type. Based on function, industrial sensors are categorized into photoelectric, thermal, gas, force, magnetic, acoustic, and humidity sensors. Taking industrial robots as an example, several important sensors involved include: collision detection sensors, safety sensors, torque sensors, weld seam tracking sensors, tactile sensors, and 3D vision sensors.
Compared to civilian applications, industrial environments place higher demands on sensors in terms of stability, accuracy, and operational safety. Industrial sensors used in smart manufacturing, compared to those in consumer electronics and other civilian sectors, face even stricter requirements in terms of stability, vibration resistance, accuracy, and shock resistance.
Industrial control must ensure zero error. Sensors should not only be able to communicate in real time, but also be sufficiently accurate. Sensors have different individual requirements regarding the temperature, humidity, and pH they can withstand, and their power consumption and size are strictly limited for different industrial applications. For example, extreme environments of -60°C pose a significant challenge.
Current Status and Reasons for Sensor Applications in Smart Factories
The gap between different industries is significant, especially in the application of sensors in smart manufacturing. In high-end manufacturing, the domestic production rate of sensors remains very low; for process industries such as petrochemicals, there is almost no need to use new, high-quality industrial sensors. For some special components required for smart manufacturing, such as sensors resistant to high temperatures and pressures, the reliability and stability of domestically produced products still lag behind.
In aerospace, military, and other fields, advanced sensors can be produced, developed, and manufactured to achieve individual, secure, and controllable operation. However, when applied in industrial sectors, purchasing imported products is currently more cost-effective. China is still unable to mass-produce high-value-added sensors such as advanced motor, vision, and force sensors, and must rely on imports. Furthermore, in pursuit of consistency and reliability across the entire system, many other sensors also need to be imported.
In addition, in the early days, most of my country's intelligent manufacturing equipment was imported from abroad, which was very expensive. Later, after domestic equipment companies introduced and digested the technology, they achieved independent production. However, for the sake of convenient selection and the stability of equipment operation, the sensors generally still use original manufacturer products.
Chinese sensor manufacturers should make greater efforts in management and quality control. For example, force sensors are used to detect the interaction between external environmental forces and the robot's own forces. Many new sensors are still being developed for industrial robots. Although they are not yet widely used, they have become an inevitable trend in industrial development. Chinese companies have more opportunities in immature market segments, so we might as well plan ahead.
