Sensor Technology Inc.'s RWT 350/360 TorqSense is a non-contact digital torque measuring system that features an integral sprocket or pulley to eliminate the engineering required to mount previous models, which featured an in-line shaft for connecting to equipment. The product is appropriate for any equipment driven by a belt or chain drive, including where space limits or restricted access are a factor.

"Belt and chain drives naturally have a high radial load, which has to be accounted for when mounting a standard TorqSense," says Tony Ingham of Sensor Technology. "It's not rocket science, but it can be fiddly, especially if access is physically difficult or time is limited.

"The new RWT350/360 simply replaces an existing pulley/sprocket, can be fitted in minutes and automatically compensates for the radial load. It's little more than tighten up a few Allen screws and checking alignment."

The control electronics are separate from the sensing head, so the head can be placed in a tight space while the electronics are mounted an appropriate distance connected by a cable.

TorqSense features piezo-ceramic combs-surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices-that are fixed to a flange. The SAW devices distort proportionally to the instantaneous torque level. This distortion produces RF data signals that transmit to a non-contact radio frequency coupling instead of by clip rings or high inertial rotary transformers, which tend to be clumsy. The data signal transmits to a control unit for reading on an alpha-numeric display or moving to a PC for storing and review.

The RWT350/360 is appropriate for use with a range of sensing applications "Our larger sensors are used in many applications at the heavy duty end of industry, whereas our smaller ones are found in applications such as fine chemical dosing and lab-based research," Ingham says. "Right through this spectrum are applications where mounting is associated with a belt or chain drive. And the new RWT350/360 makes this a simple plug-and-play operation."