Hi there,
      I have a customer interested in using a Universal Robots UR5 for a testing application. He inserts a gauge housing into a hole at about 30N force, then moves the gauge itself within the hole and any resistance indicates a defect. We think that either the FT150 or the FT300 would be a good choice. When would you suggest one instead of the other?

 Also, I see from the FT150 instruction manual that its effective resolution is 0.2N but I do not see an instruction manual for the FT300 or any resolution data on its specification sheet. Do you have any information on its resolution?

 Thanks

Hi,

We replaced the different terms in the FT-150 specs by a single "signal noise" spec.

If you look at the updated specifications you will see that :

• the FT-150 has a 0.5 N signal noise 
• FT-300 has 0.5 N in Z axis and 1.2 N in X and Y.

Personally I would go with the FT-300, it's just a better fit on the UR and a bit more versatile.

Do you think the 1.2 vs 0.5 N in X and Y is a limiting factor for that customer ?

For this application, the customer will be inserting a go/no-go gauge into a part. They need to sense the resistance as the gauge is inserted and retracted, and I believe that will be along the Z axis, but the design of the system is still very preliminary. 

If the part is good, then they will sense no resistance. What will the signal noise mean to the output they see from the FT150 or FT300?

Thank you,

Hi,

They should indeed use Z axis then. Signal noise is basically the signal movement around the "true" value. The noise we get in the sensor is quite similar to a white noise, see picture below. 

If you would have no reading ( 0 N in Z), with our signal noise over 1 sec (1000 ms) you would get something like this :

Basically, this mean that your program must be something like 

Insert the Go pin
While inserting :
    - If normal value of Z reading is < 0.5 N, then go is good
    - If normal value of Z reading is >= 0.5 N, then go is no good

In fact, you should have a higher margin then this, I have a background in part inspections and I can tell you that the Go pin always has a bit of friction, so you will need a higher threshold then 0.5 N

But in the end, the Go pin should insert with a certain threshold, while the No-Go pin should never insert (that's easy to measure).

Hope that helps.

That was a very helpful explanation. Thank you.