ISM - Intelligent Sensor Management
All sensors, be it pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, TOC or anything else, are digital. It is pointless to convert these digital signals into classical analogue (mA, nA, mV, etc.) signals and then to re-digitise them in a PLC, controller or other control system. That's why we recommend reading the digital signals from the sensors directly into the peripheral equipment.
That’s what we call digital integration.
And you can do that in various ways. Depending on the circumstances and the peripheral equipment, you can use the digital communication below (possibly via a specific converter):
- Profinet
- Profibus PA
- Foundation Fieldbus, FF
- HART
- Modbus
Using digital communication, you do more than just transmit measured values! A lot of information is stored in your intelligent sensor. In addition to the normal measured values, you have the serial number, the time the sensor has been in use, when it was last calibrated, the full calibration report, the maximum temperature, the time until the next service, the estimated service life and many other sensor-specific diagnostic parameters.
Calibration is no longer done on-site. You exchange the sensor with a properly maintained and pre-calibrated one. You take the used sensor to your workshop or lab and connect it to the PC there. The special iSense software allows complete diagnosis and calibration of the sensor.
