Feed supply refers to the process of providing raw materials, ingredients or compound feed to a production facility, such as a factory, plant, or livestock production. Ensuring a consistent and reliable feed supply is crucial for the smooth operation of any production facility and for the animal welfare in livestock production.
One way to improve the efficiency of the feed supply process is through the use of capacitive sensors. Capacitive sensors are electronic devices that measure the capacity or amount of electrical charge stored in a material. They work by detecting changes in capacitance, which is the ability of a material to store an electrical charge.
There are many potential applications for capacitive sensors in the feed supply process. For example, they can be used to measure the level of raw materials in storage bins, silos or tanks. This can help to prevent shortages and ensure that production is not disrupted due to a lack of raw materials or compound feed.
Capacitive sensors can also be used to monitor the flow rate of raw materials being transported through pipes or conveyor belts. This can help to optimize the rate at which materials are supplied to the production process, ensuring that there is neither an excess nor a deficiency of raw materials.
Overall, the use of capacitive sensors in the feed supply process can help to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and prevent disruptions in production. They offer a reliable and cost-effective means of monitoring and controlling the flow of raw materials, ensuring that production can be maintained at optimal levels.
If the capacitive sensor are failing in reliability, the feed supply will no longer be consistent. This means that the animals are either feeded too much or too little. Too much feed in a feed pan can make the animals eat too much, increasing the production cost and the FCR. But it can also result in mould formation in the feed pan causing illness and bad animal welfare.
Too little feed supply will of course decrease animal welfare and weight gain and even increase mortality.
Thus, reliable and robust capacitive sensors are vital to the production performance.
dol-sensors’ capacitive proximity sensors comes with 4 different outputs; Relay, PNP, NPN, and SCR:
Sensors with relay output can manage feed supply systems or small motors like a snail in pellet stoves. They simply detect whether there is material in front of them or not and provide the motor or fees supply system with a signal to open or close. Our relay sensors have no voltage drop.
DOL 44, DOL 40 series (DOL 41, DOL 43 , and DOL 45), and iDOL 46 ATEX are capacitive proximity sensors with relay ourput.
DOL 44 is a non-flushed sensor at 30 or 33mm with a sensitivity at 0-15mm. The sensor can be adjusted with two trimmers or with the SmartAdjust App for the iDOL 44. If you have the conical sensor DOL 33, you can replace it with the DOL 44 in 33mm.
The DOL 40 Series consist of 3 sensors with different types of relay; one with no delays – DOL 41, one with only off delay – DOL 43, and one with both on and off delays – DOL 45. The sensors can be adjusted with two switches.
iDOL 46 ATEX is approved according to ATEX directive 2014/34/ EU for operation in potentially explosive dust atmospheres which is why it is suitable for the dusty environment in livestock houses. The sensor can be adjusted with the SmartAdjust App with a NFC connection to the sensor.
In a feed string you can place two capacitive proximity sensors; one in the beginning and one in the end. But in some cases you will place one sensors at the last feed pan in the feed string to make it monitor the level of feed and make sure no of the other feed pans are emptied. In this case, some people like having a light on the feed pan that is monitored by the sensor, since it can attract the broilers to this feed pan making it the most attractive one. Thus we have made DOL 28 with a light and two trimmers to adjust the sensor.
DOL 20 comes with both Relay and SCR output and due to its flat back it can be mounted outside of the container with screws or glue. The iDOL 20 can be adjusted with the SmartAdjust App and the DOL 20 with to trimmers.
Sensors with PNP or NPN outputs can manage industrial controls or custommade controls e.g. for feed supply systems and have a low voltage at 10-30V.
DOL 26 and DOL 27 are sensors with PNP, NPN or SCR outputs. The main difference between the two is that DOL 26 is only 18mm which makes it fit in narrow spaces and DOL 27 is 30mm which makes it detect loose or solid material on a futher distance with a sensitivity of 0-20mm. DOL 26 has a cable return to make it easy to strip the cable against the feed pan keeping it out of the animals’ reach. DOL 27 comes in a flushed version which means that it only detects loose and solid material in front of the sensor.
Sensors with a SCR output only have two conductors which makes them save power. These sensors are used as a substitute for at swich.
The sonsors that have SCR output are:
Our SmartAdjust App makes it possible for you to adjust your iDOL sensors with a NFC connection to the sensor. This gives you all our variant’s adjustment possiblities. with a DOL sensor you will have limited adjustment possiblities.
dol-sensors A/S
Agro Food Park 15
8200 Aarhus N