Abstract
This paper presents the design and development of a coplanar capacitive proximity sensor for the detection of the gap between the edges of dielectric foils. The finite element analysis is applied to study the design of the sensor by investigating the effects of different physical parameters, like, the sensing electrodes width, the spacing between them and the thickness of the substrate on its responses. The sensitivity of the sensor increases with the ascending electrode width; but is negatively affected by the growing spacing between electrodes. Conversely, the foil edge gap detection range rises with the growing electrode width and spacing between electrodes. Moreover, the optimum sensor performance is observed for the foil edge gap positioned centered with the sensing electrodes and the target foil remaining in contact with its surface. The capacitive proximity sensor with optimum set of parameters is fabricated on a polyimide foil by the inkjet of the sensing electrodes. The sensor demonstrates an average optimum sensitivity of 0.105 fF/μm for an edge gap detection range of 500 µm with a 450 µm thick polyethylene foil, when the vertical gap between the foil and the active area of the sensor is maintained to zero. The sensitivity and the detection range capability reduce significantly with the increasing vertical gap between the sensor and foil.
Highlights
Over the past decade, the global packaging industry has experienced steady growth
Sensors design parameters The numerical analysis is first performed to understand the influence of different physical parameters of the flexible coplanar capacitive proximity sensor, such as the width of the electrodes (EW), the spacing between the electrodes (ES), and the thickness of substrate (ST)
Other factors are kept constant with the spacing between grounded metallic guiding rail and sensor holder (MS) = 300 μm, the PE target foil thickness (FT) = 200 μm, the vertical gap between sensor and target PE foil (VGSF) = 0 μm, and the foil edge gap position centered with respect to the center of the sensing region of the sensor (PFE)
Summary
The global packaging industry has experienced steady growth. The trend suggests that the growth will continue for years to come due to economic boom in the emerging markets. Manufacturing tubular plastic packages, in which precise lamination of the two edges of the foil is required to form the tubes, can suffer from the rotation of the plastic foil within the production machine and from the unwanted movement of the packaging foil edges with respect to the reference during lamination These can lead to failure in the lamination process and causes waste of ma terials and production time, resulting to an increase of the production cost. We report for the first time on the implementation of a simple capacitive proximity sensor designed for the specific application of detecting the gap between the two edges of a dielectric foil. The coplanar capacitive sensor configuration has been identified to be the most suited for foil edge gap detection application due to its geometry, non-contact and high sensi tivity features. We demonstrate the realization of the coplanar capacitive proximity sensors using inkjet printing and their characterization
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