Heavy-duty capacitance level switches

Endress+Hauser have launched Solicap S, a range of extreme-duty, capacitive switches for point level measurement of bulk solids. The range has been designed for the detection of both fine-grained and coarse solids in heavy-duty applications.

A major contributor to overall plant downtime in heavy industry is the time spent replacing damaged probes and recalibrating their replacements. The robust design of the Solicap S range ensures that downtime due to probe damage is minimised. Probes are available in both sword and rope versions with a maximum measuring range of 20 m. Their rugged construction can withstand lateral loading of up to 800 Nm and a high degree of abrasion at operating temperatures as high as 400 °C. The probe’s electronics are protected against electrostatic discharges by integrated two-stage overvoltage protection.

Endress+Hauser’s ‘active build-up compensation’ feature can help to ensure reliable switching even in the event of a high level of material build-up around the process connection, eliminating the need for maintenance staff to clean probes.

In the event that a probe does fail, instrument and calibration parameters stored in the device’s on-board memory can be quickly transferred from the damaged device to its replacement eliminating the need for manual calibration.

Solicap S has a gastight probe seal to prevent the exposure of maintenance staff to aggressive or toxic media. The range includes versions suitable for functional safety applications with hardware certified to SIL2 and software to SIL3 of AS IEC 61511.3-2004.