Reventec Talks to Defense Advancement about the Latest
Mil-Spec Vehicle Health Sensors
Neville Meech, Managing Director of Reventec, recently spoke to the team at DefenseAdvancement.com to discuss how our capacitive liquid level sensors, non-contact position sensors and programmable temperature sensors are ideal for military vehicle applications and how defence platforms can benefit from these technologies.
How can Reventec’s range of mil-spec vehicle health sensors support operational agility on the battlefield?
Vehicles are a vital resource during conflict, whether that is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), combat vehicle, engineering vehicle, transportation vehicle, recovery vehicle, or even a submersible diver delivery unit. Ensuring that military assets are operational and can be deployed at a moments notice offers operational agility when it is needed the most. That is where Reventec steps in.
At Reventec, we offer capacitive fuel level sensors, oil level sensors and coolant level sensors for continuous measurement of critical fluids which eliminates the need to externally check fluid levels, such as oil, with a dipstick.
Alongside liquid level sensors, we manufacture durable non-contact position sensors for high-accuracy linear, arc and rotary position measurement. Some examples of how our customers use this technology is to measure gear engagement detection through rotary position sensing, arc movement can be measured for accurate boom angle applications, and linear movement detected for hydraulic engagement. Monitoring vital components’ movement enables the smooth running of vehicles and alerts operators to potential preventative maintenance of components that may be required.
With reliable real-time readings and advanced accuracies of up to ±0.5% of reading, Reventec vehicle health sensors allow defence platforms to extend their range and mission capabilities to defend for longer.
Our mil-spec vehicle health sensors are designed to meet MIL-STD EMC certification as required from MIL-STD-461F and RTCA DO160F. Knowing the status of your critical tactical vehicles for quick deployment and dependability when it is needed the most, allowing operators to push forward.
How does Reventec stand out from competitors?
At Reventec we focus on delivering customised sensors solutions for vehicle platforms in extreme environments. All of the sensor technologies that we offer are solid-state to reduce the amount of mechanical wear and regular maintenance required. We don’t think that a one-size-fits-all works for all applications which is where some of our competitors focus their efforts. Instead we understand that some engineering challenges require a custom-designed sensor solution that needs to fit within our customers spatial constraints and to their technical requirements.
We stand out from competitors based on the high quality of our products that are built to last, the advanced technologies that we utilise, and the specialist custom-design service that we deliver. For specialist projects, we are capable of engineering our products to environmental protections of IP69K with high vibration tolerance, temperature ratings, and shock resistance.
We employ progressive Tunnelling MagnetoResistive technologies in our sensor designs which differs to standard hall effect position sensors in that they measure magnetic flux angle rather than just magnetic signal strength enabling our ability to detect through solid non ferrous materials. Our technology can be offered with rapid 5kHz response rate providing the end user with accurate real time data.
Can you explain how Reventec collaborates with their customers to develop new applications?
Our approach at Reventec is to be customer-centric. We focus on developing extremely reliable, high-accuracy sensing technologies that can then be packaged in a huge selection of formats to fit specific customer applications. This is prominent within our range of Tunnelling MagnetoResistive position sensors.
As a non-contact device we can design the magnet target and the sensing heads to fit in small, compact spaces whilst capable of continuously measuring across air gaps and through aluminium or stainless steel walls.
With complex projects, we often work with our customers CAD drawings to accurately design sensing elements and create custom shrouds that fit within their spatial constraints for seamless integration. Once custom-built and calibrated, our position sensors offer simple plug-and-play installation.
Our Quantum TMR 45mm Linear Motorsport Wheel Gun Position Sensor is an example of custom designed solution built to fit and measure a specific component. We produced a shroud that fits over the wheel gun and housed the processing electronics connected to three sensing devices in the nose of the gun. When configured, the three sensing heads combine to produce a single displacement measurement value of the position of the socket. This product solved a customer challenge where traditionally a torque sensor would be used to determine if the central single wheel nut was correctly fitted during a wheel change in a racing pit stop event. Common faults such as cross threading mishaps with this technology can be rapidly detected.
Another bespoke product that we engineered specifically for a customer is our Submersible Exhaust Thermocouple. This product was designed with a temperature probe that can be manipulated to the desired shape, in this case to encircle an exhaust on a submersible vehicle. Capable of handling high temperatures emitted from the exhaust, the IP69K rated probe has a temperature range of -100°C to +1300°C (with the semi-remote electronics rated to -40°C to +85°C).
As we specialise in customised sensors for extreme environments that are manufactured to a customers requirement, we are always reviewing and expanding our product offering. Our core products are liquid level sensing, position sensing and temperature sensing, however we are extremely well-versed in other sensing technologies including speed and pressure sensing. We encourage anyone that has a challenging vehicle sensor requirement to get in touch with us so we can talk through their options.
What does Reventec have planned for the future?
Our current product pipeline includes the expansion of our position sensing offering. We are developing a new non-contact inductive position sensor that will compliment our existing range of MagnetoResistive position sensors by offering greater measurement strokes of 100mm to 500mm allowing us to support more applications. With an extended sensing range, the inductive position sensing technology is insensitive to ferrous material ensuring excellent accuracy whilst in close proximity to materials that contain iron. More details and technical specifications will be released over the coming months.
