When choosing flow meter, the first thing that comes to mind may be flow rate, pressure, temperature, medium and other specifications. However, there are more important features to focus on than the immediate ones. In this article, we set seven notable features for choosing the right flow timing for you and your plant.

1. Safety first

Safety always comes first. Working with compressed air means thinking about your safety, especially when installing plug-in flowmeters. Plug-in flowmeters can squirt out of the pipe without taking safety measures. Therefore, safety ropes are vital. Always use the original safety device provided by the manufacturer. Only certified technicians can install flowmeters. Safety measures not only ensure the safety of employees, but also reduce the possibility of equipment damage and unplanned outages.

2. Measure two-way traffic

In a compressed air network, two-way traffic may be more frequent than you think. This may occur, for example, in large ring networks, in factories with multiple compressor chambers, or when using large gas storage tanks. Measure two-way flow rates to reduce misreading, detect unforeseen problems, and accurately understand the amount of compressed air consumed in each area of your plant.

3. Data recording

Data recording is essential for trend monitoring, baseline establishment and analysis of past events. As a result, our flowmeters are equipped with built-in data recorders. For example, the VP Thermal Mass M model flowmeter can record flow, temperature, pressure and accumulative volume per second over 1 year! When recording data, don't forget that eventually you will need to analyze all the data. So, "more is better" isn't always true. Therefore, to improve the efficiency of the air audit, ensure that the correct measurement interval is set. Based on years of feedback and experience, we have established some guidelines to help you set the correct measurement intervals.

4. Prepare for Industry 4.0 with Ethernet

We are experiencing the fourth manufacturing revolution, also known as Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things, which includes the digitization of all processes. Act now to reap the fruits of this revolution. Industrial Ethernet is the preferred platform for seamless communication with many sensors and is by far the most used backbone for Industry 4.0 projects. To help you prepare for this new revolution, we have standardized the internal Ethernet interface, or Ethernet output. Prepare for the future by choosing an Ethernet device now.

5. The importance of calibration

Calibration is a necessary evil. A measuring instrument without regular calibration is not reliable. Sensors and electronics may drift, contaminate, or wear out mechanically. Therefore, you need to use reliable, traceable reference standards to track and correct this. Calibration is often even mandated by law when the flowmeter is part of the excitation plan. Inefficient calibration is cumbersome and time consuming. Calibration is made as easy as possible by selecting the right sensor technology. For example, the replaceable VP probe rod reduces the hassle of conventional calibration.

6. Master your factory with Modbus

Modbus is one of the most widely used network protocols in the industry. It is a way for electronic industrial devices to communicate with each other, allowing information to be transmitted between electronic devices over serial lines. In addition, it allows you to get all the data from your instrument consistently without scaling issues. As the communication layer, we provide Modbus RS485 and Modbus Ethernet (Modbus/TCP). It is better than the traditional 4... The 20 mA sensor has more advantages. With one cable, you can read multiple parameters and you don't have to worry about scaling. Therefore, the use of Modbus will greatly improve the efficiency of communication between plant equipment.

7. Set alarms to prevent problems from being fixed before they cause downtime

If your system shuts down, your business shuts down. Using pressure loss alerts, or alerting specific KPI/EnPI values with your own thresholds to notify you when an anomaly occurs in the factory, can help prevent this from happening. This way, you can resolve the problem before it causes an actual outage.

summarize

Like humans, each factory is unique. Therefore, it is important to know which features to look out for when choosing traffic timing. Investing time and money into flowmeters that are perfectly suited for your company will provide long-term benefits and prevent unnecessary costs due to downtime and unforeseen problems.

About VP Instrument

Let the energy flow at a glance

VP instruments help industrial customers understand energy flow. We believe industrial energy monitoring should be concise and effortless to achieve insight, savings and optimization. VP Instruments' products are recommended by leading energy experts worldwide and provide the most complete measurement solutions for compressed air flow, gas flow and power consumption. Our monitoring software VPVision iot monitoring system can be used for all industrial applications and enables you to monitor data and provide energy saving guidance in real time with our products around the world.

Our products can be found all over the world. We serve all industrial markets; Examples include automobiles, glass manufacturing, metal processing, food and beverage and consumer goods. We can also help you in your industry. Let us help you get started saving energy.

Proud to serve the world's leading companies

Through our distributors and resellers, we serve customers around the world to save on compressed air energy costs. A small number of end users: Baowu Steel (Steel), Monolith (Fiberglass), Huawei Group (Communications), SAIC (Automotive), IKEA (wholesale), GSK GlaxoSmithKline (pharmaceuticals), Kikkoman Kikkoman (food), Libby Libby (glass), Mars (food), Samsung Samsung (consumer goods), Nest le Nestle (Food), O&I(glass), Philips (Consumer goods), Toyota (automobile).