Advanced Manufacturing
When a pressure reading is wrong in an automated line, the line doesn’t know. It just keeps making bad parts.
Advanced manufacturing systems monitor dozens of pressure points simultaneously and automatically respond to deviations. The sensor feeding each response determines whether the line catches problems or compounds them.
Modern manufacturing facilities operate under continuous automated control. Pneumatic actuators position parts, apply force, and operate tooling at speeds no human operator could match. Hydraulic systems generate the clamping forces and feed rates that define machining precision. Process gas lines supply the controlled atmospheres and reactive gases that semiconductor fabrication, precision coating, and additive manufacturing depend on. In each of these systems, pressure is the operating variable that process control logic monitors and adjusts. When pressure is right, production runs. When it deviates, the consequences range from subtle defects to scrapped production runs to equipment damage.
Industrial pressure measurement poses challenges that other environments do not. Manufacturing facilities expose sensors to wider temperature swings, higher vibration from motors and machining equipment, and more aggressive electrical noise from drives, welding systems, and high-current switching. The pressure ranges span orders of magnitude: a precision pneumatic gripper may operate at a few hundred pascals of differential pressure, while a hydraulic press or injection molding machine operates at pressures measured in psi. Response speed matters as well. On a high-speed automated line, a pressure excursion that causes a defect or equipment fault can occur in milliseconds, faster than any external monitoring system can intervene.
Superior Sensor’s ND Series covers the full pressure range that advanced manufacturing demands, from low differential pressures governing pneumatic and process gas systems to mid-range and absolute pressure measurements for hydraulic and vacuum applications. An extended operating temperature range accommodates the thermal environment of industrial facilities, and the integrated pressure switch allows the sensor to trigger protective responses directly when a threshold is crossed, eliminating the latency of external monitoring systems and enabling faster action than any off-board controller can provide.
Why Choose Superior Sensor for Advanced Manufacturing
Advanced manufacturing places demanding requirements on pressure sensors: wide pressure range coverage, fast response, noise rejection in harsh electrical and mechanical environments, and the ability to act directly on threshold events. Superior Sensor’s NimbleSense architecture addresses each of these with capabilities designed for industrial environments.
Multi-Range™ technology
Advanced manufacturing facilities use pressure sensors across a wide range of applications, from low-pressure differential measurements in pneumatic and process gas systems to higher absolute pressures in hydraulic and vacuum applications. The ND Series supports multiple pressure ranges in a single sensor, reducing the number of sensor variants required across a facility and enabling the same hardware platform to serve different measurement tasks as production requirements evolve.
Advanced digital filtering
Manufacturing environments generate continuous vibration from motors, compressors, robotic actuators, and machining equipment, which can appear in pressure readings. In a closed-loop control system, this noise mixes with the band of interest, causing signal errors and control instability. Superior Sensor’s multi-order digital filter removes this mechanical interference before it reaches the output, providing control systems with a clean, stable signal even in high-vibration industrial environments.
Integrated closed loop control
Pneumatic actuators, process gas regulators, and hydraulic systems all rely on closed-loop pressure control to maintain precise operating conditions. The integrated closed-loop control allows the ND Series to participate directly in the loop, eliminating external control circuitry, reducing the system component count, and cutting the response delay between a pressure deviation and the corrective action by up to 100x.
Integrated pressure switch
When pressure in a manufacturing system exceeds a defined threshold, the consequences can be immediate: equipment damage, product defects, or safety hazards. The integrated pressure switch triggers a configurable output directly at the sensor when that threshold is crossed, enabling faster protective responses than any off-board monitoring system. On automated lines where events occur in milliseconds, having the safety interlock at the sensor rather than in a separate controller can be the difference between catching a fault and compounding it.
Integrated 50/60 Hz notch filter
Variable-frequency drives, servo motors, welding equipment, and high-current switching all generate power-line interference that can contaminate sensor readings. The integrated notch filter eliminates this interference at the sensor level, ensuring that pressure readings reflect actual process conditions rather than the facility’s electrical environment.
Recommended Sensors
Common Device Features: 3.3V supply
Long-Term Stability is measured after first 12 months
Short-Term Error Band (STEB) is measured over 24 hours, after auto-zero
Common Specifications
- Ultra low noise, 17-bit effective resolution
- Exceptional zero stability
- Integrated 50/60 Hz notch filter
- Optional advanced digital filtering
- Optional closed loop control
- Optional 3-mode pressure switch
- Temperature-compensated from -20°C to +85°C
- Supply voltage compensation
- Fully integrated compensation math
- Standard I2C and SPI interfaces
Advanced Manufacturing FAQ
What types of pressure measurements are used in advanced manufacturing?
Advanced manufacturing relies on several types of pressure measurement, depending on the application. Differential pressure measurement is used to monitor pneumatic systems, process gas flows, and filter condition in compressed air lines. Gauge pressure measurement monitors hydraulic circuit pressure, coolant systems, and process vessels relative to atmospheric pressure. Absolute pressure measurement is used in vacuum applications such as pick-and-place systems, degassing, and processes that require a known absolute pressure environment regardless of atmospheric variation. In a fully automated facility, all three types may operate simultaneously across different parts of the production system.
What pressure ranges are typical in advanced manufacturing applications?
Pressure ranges in advanced manufacturing span a much wider spectrum than in most other applications. Low-pressure pneumatic gripper systems and process gas differential measurements may operate in the range of 100 to 1,000 pascals. Compressed air distribution systems typically operate at 500 to 1,000 kPa gauge. Hydraulic systems in presses and injection molding equipment operate at pressures ranging from 5,000 to over 30,000 kPa. Vacuum systems for pick-and-place and degassing applications may operate at absolute pressures from near-zero to atmospheric. Sensor platforms with multi-range capability reduce the number of variants required to cover these applications across a facility.
How does sensor response speed affect automated manufacturing processes?
In automated manufacturing, process events occur at machine speed, not human speed. A pneumatic valve that opens too quickly, a hydraulic circuit that exceeds its operating pressure, or a process gas line that drops below the required flow rate can cause a defect or trigger a fault condition in milliseconds. A pressure sensor with a slow update rate or significant processing latency will detect these events after the fact rather than in time to prevent them. Fast update rates allow control systems and safety interlocks to respond in time to intervene, rather than logging the event after damage has occurred.
What is an integrated pressure switch and how does it protect manufacturing equipment?
An integrated pressure switch is a configurable threshold function built into the sensor that triggers when pressure rises above or falls below a set point. Unlike a software alarm that requires the reading to be communicated to a controller, processed, and then acted on, the integrated pressure switch responds at the sensor level in hardware, eliminating communication latency. In manufacturing applications where overpressure events can damage equipment or pose safety hazards, this speed advantage is significant. The switch output can be wired directly to a shutoff valve, an emergency stop circuit, or an alarm system, enabling protective action faster than any off-board monitoring architecture can achieve.
Why does operating temperature range matter for pressure sensors in industrial environments?
Industrial manufacturing environments are subject to temperature variations that laboratory and HVAC environments are not. Machine tools generate heat during operation. Compressed air systems produce condensation. Outdoor-facing installations experience seasonal temperature swings. Sensors with a narrow operating temperature range either require additional thermal management or produce degraded accuracy when temperatures approach their limits. Superior Sensor’s ND Series is designed for an extended operating temperature range, maintaining its accuracy specification across the thermal conditions present in industrial facilities without requiring environmental controls around the sensor itself.
Resources
Low Pressure
Product Brief
Mid Pressure
Product Brief
Absolute Pressure
Product Brief
Technology Brochure
Catalog
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