The new standard for measurement in the Industry 4.0 era with digital industrial charge amplifier

Kistler's newly developed Type 5074A data acquisition unit breaks new ground in industrial charge amplifier technology. This unit is currently the only piezoelectric sensor amplifier on the market that features communication consistently based on Industrial Ethernet (IE). For the first time, plant and machinery manufacturers can now integrate any desired piezoelectric sensors directly into a real time-capable Ethernet system, so they can easily make settings on the measurement charge amplifier via the control.

This innovative product is an ideal choice for monitoring and optimizing industrial press-fit, assembly and joining processes, among many others. It can be regarded as a digital version of the tried-and-tested Type 5073A analog charge amplifier. Complete digitization means that the new unit enables direct communication up to charge amplifier level. The 5074A features an exceptionally wide range of measuring functions, making it the perfect solution for all applications that call for dynamic and quasi-static measurements via Industrial Ethernet.

Flexible measuring ranges, performance and functions

With the new 5074A, up to four piezoelectric sensors per unit can be connected to the digital industrial network. The industrial charge amplifier is available with the EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP and ProfiNet communication protocols, so it covers the main Industrial Ethernet standards. This gives users a major advantage: right away, they can conveniently set up and view all parameters via the control. This guarantees control of datasets – with no need to install additional software.

Another benefit: each channel can be individually controlled. Direct access to the status of the unit and the measuring channels ensures that measurement processes are highly reliable at all times. While operation is in progress, the control receives confirmations of status changes: for instance, whether the unit is in 'measuring' status or whether the measuring range has been exceeded. With the industrial charge amplifier 5074A, the raw analog signal from the sensor is already digitized in the amplifier – so the disturbance variables that occur in conventional analog systems can be avoided from the outset by inductive or capacitive couplings. Likewise, complex and costly cabling for analog and control signals is eliminated.

This amplifier fully supports the latest Industrial Ethernet standards, so it can deliver fast and precise measurements at up to 10,000 bus cycles per second – making it particularly suitable for time-critical control processes. Thanks to an oversampling option that allows generation of multiple measuring points per cycle, the charge amplifier 5074A is also an ideal solution for high-resolution acquisition of processes with up to 50,000 measurement values per channel and second. Customers themselves can limit the process data to the functions they require so as to optimize network capacity utilization and increase the control's performance capability.