Measurement of composite casting cart speed

[Danemark]

Hi All,
We have a roll cart that is driven by a VFD motor while a rotating steel shell is being covered with a polyurethane covering. Currently the speed of the cart is a calculation based on hertz from the drive. We have seen imperfections in our cover that we believe is due to a slight bump or hesitation in the roll cart movement and would like to monitor the roll carts actual movement. Is there an instrument that can be used to directly measure the carts forward movement on a second by second, millimeter by millimeter basis? We believe we may have some slight variation in the track work that the cart itself runs on or possibly some sort of issue with the mechanical drive of the cart itself so are looking to document the the carts complete movement through the casting procedure. Cast jobs can easily run for an hour in length. Thanks you so much for your response.

 

[MikeHalloran]

There are at least a thousand ways.
You will get fewer nonsensical or impractical suggestions if you provide a few photos of the machinery and the operation, so we can get a handle on the limitations you haven't mentioned.

E.g., if you hook a thin cable/string to the cart and roll it up on a shaft driven by a torque motor, a rotary encoder on the same shaft can give you a train of pulses that are spaced apart by cart distance increments, and work from there. ... but if people have to walk around the cart, they might trip over and/or damage the string, or spill some goo on it.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA