IFM Electronics at the beginning it was passion driving the founders to make it better. To develop sensors with extraordinary quality and reliability and to provide unequalled customer service. It was with this vision and knowing that ‘quality’ by far exceeds the actual product that ifm started in October 1969.
About IFM Electronics
After many years of intensive cooperation with our customers we have established ourselves in the market as service-oriented sensor specialists and today we are represented by more than 7,300 employees in over 95 countries worldwide. Even though we have grown into a big company we have still maintained the virtues of the founding years: The flexibility and individuality of a small enterprise and the quality and professionalism of a group. And our customers are still today in the centre of our work – close to you.
Quality and Service
Quality for us is a term far exceeding the actual product. All our processes are focused on customer service and product quality. We personally support our customers – no matter where in the world and in which language. And if it has to be fast, our experts will provide competent support through our free service hotlines. We use our customers’ feedback to continuously improve the quality of our products. In special test procedures we stress our sensors far beyond their limits to make sure that they keep what we promise in the customers’ processes. In addition each product is submitted to a final inspection before it leaves our premises. This is a promise we take seriously and so we grant a 5-year warranty on each catalogue product.
Made in Germany
70 % of our products are developed and manufactured in Germany. We feel closely connected to the location Germany. But we have reached a point at which we want to further extend the vision of our commitment “close to you”. With manufacturing and development locations in the USA, in Singapore, Poland and Romania we follow our principles and can respond to the requirements of the different markets with high professional competence, fast, flexibly and professionally. All our manufacturing and development locations are set up according to the same high German quality standards, whether it concerns the working conditions for our staff, environmental protection or the high quality standards in development and production.
Value added and profits with value
Our company profits provide the necessary capital for creating and securing training positions and employment and for investing in innovation. Within the ifm group of companies, value-oriented action plays an important role. The founding generation laid down principles in a philosophy which has now been translated into 16 languages and is handed out to every employee. In this philosophy we promote our ethical company culture and encourage our employees into a responsible and sustainable behaviour – also in the global context. So for us, successful cost management and morality do not exclude each other. This is confirmed by our continuous growth since the foundation of the company. On the basis of this philosophy we achieved a company turnover of 975 million EUR in 2018.
Acting sustainably is the motto
What will the world look like in the future? We at ifm ask ourselves this question not only when it comes to product development, innovative technologies and new ways of working. Environmental issues also play a leading role in our daily decisions and actions.
We can only fulfil this responsibility when we are aware of the consequences of our actions and in time start looking for solutions and new ways to minimise their impact. For us, this also means responsibly and reliably following long-term goals instead of resting on short-term successes. In the course of this, we would like to recommend our second Sustainability report (2020) which contains a comprehensive sustainability programme in addition to our strategic approaches and measures.
The group of companies has been following this guiding principle for over 50 years. In doing so, we often go beyond the legal requirements and feel further encouraged in our thinking by the increasing attention to issues such as the protection of biodiversity, energy and mobility, which are emerging, among other things, from a global climate movement and also from pioneering measures of the European Green Deal.
At the same time, we are aware that we must contribute more. Only then can we master the global social and ecological challenges. Up until now, we have seen ourselves as a company that operates sustainably in an integrated manner. Now we want to actively advance our sustainability activities and pursue the issues that are essential for us in the coming years. You can find out here what this means in detail for the ifm group.
The Products of IFM Electronics
Inductive Sensor
Inductive sensors are nowadays indispensable for industrial applications. As compared to mechanical switches they offer almost ideal conditions: non-contact operation free from any wear and tear, high switching frequencies and accuracy. In addition, they are insensitive to vibration, dust and moisture. Inductive sensors detect all metals without contact.
Capacitive Sensor
Capacitive sensors are used for the non-contact detection of any objects. In contrast to inductive sensors, which only detect metallic objects, capacitive sensors can also detect non-metallic materials. Typical applications are in the wood, paper, glass, plastic, food, chemical and semiconductor industries.
Magnetic Sensor
Magnetic sensors are used for the detection of positions without contact or wear and tear. They are used where very long sensing ranges are required. Since magnetic fields penetrate all non-magnetisable materials, the sensors can detect magnets through walls made of stainless steel, aluminium, plastic or wood.
Ultrasonics Sensor
Ultrasonic sensors are used for reliable position detection and precise continuous distance measurement of solids, powders and liquids. They transmit and receive sound waves in the ultrasonic range. The object to be detected reflects the sound waves and the distance information is determined via time-of-flight measurement.
Blister packages in packaging technology or transparent plastic bowls in the food industry, for example, can be reliably detected. Even in operating conditions with heavy soiling, dust or mist the sensors detect objects reliably and without interference. ifm’s compact ultrasonic sensors provide a particularly small blind zone, long sensing ranges and a high resolution.
The product range includes units with programmable switching output, analogue output, or a combination of both. Output function, switch points and measuring range are conveniently set via a pushbutton on the unit or via wire teach. Some sensor types can additionally be configured via IO-Link, e.g. using a USB interface. The LINERECORDER SENSOR software is used to visualise, transfer and archive parameter sets.
Valve Sensor
In industrial processes where liquids, air or gases are used, valves are needed for dosing and control. Pneumatic valve actuators are normally used for mechanical positioning. The valve position must be monitored electronically.
Dual sensor for valve actuators
A round target, also called a ‘puck’, with two metal screws offset by 90° is mounted on the actuator shaft. The screws are located at a different height. A compact dual inductive sensor (type IND) with two integral sensors detects the upper or lower metal screw depending on the valve position and thus the two switch positions. This system operates reliably with no wear at all. It is virtually resistant to external influence and insensitive to mechanical stress such as vibration and shock.
Sensor for rising stem valves
For position feedback on rising stem valves efector valvis is used. Two or three switch points can be set via pushbuttons over a stroke of 80 mm. In addition to the “open” and “closed” positions of the valve, a third position is used for “seat lift” monitoring (active during the cleaning process). Thanks to a resolution of 0.2 mm the sensor detects even very small changes in the position of the valve. The inductive measuring principle guarantees wear-free non-contact operation. Different adapters allow for easy installation of the same sensor on valves of various manufacturers and sizes.
Cylinder sensors
Cylinder sensors are used for position detection of pistons in pneumatic cylinders. They are directly mounted onto the cylinder. The ring magnet attached to the piston is sensed through the housing wall of non-magnetisable material (e.g. aluminium, brass or stainless steel). They can be fixed to almost any T-slot, C-slot, clean-line, tie rod, integrated profile or trapezoidal slot cylinder.
Flow Sensors
In almost all fields of process and plant engineering liquids or gases are used, e.g. for coolant and lubricant supply of plants and power units or ventilation of installations and buildings. Electronic flow sensors are used to prevent damage or downtime caused by flow interruptions.
IFM Electronics product range comprises flow sensors with different measuring principles for monitoring the most varied types of media, including water, oils and coolants, but also air, compressed air or aggressive media. Their application areas range from simple monitoring tasks to precise flow rate measurements.
Source : www.ifm.com
Read More Articles :
- TMC Hallcrest Temperature Control
- Eastern Controls Process Variable Measurement
- The Schaltbau Connect Contact Control
- Thermal Instrument Company
- Vega Level Sensor and Pressure Measurement
- EBRO ARMATUREN – Industrial Valves, Actuators and Automation Technology
- SKON Pressure Gauge
