Pressure sensors lend themselves to many applications and they are perhaps the most efficient switching mechanism to be used in manufacturing. From a safety point of view, they can be used to regulate flow and temperature, but pressure switches can also be used to ensure the smooth running of a production line.

Minimising Downtime and Increasing Productivity
Designing a production line is as much about contingency as it is about creating a bottlenecks and innovative running systems. A situation where part of a production process fails is inevitable because even the best-engineered machines in the world will use parts that have a finite lifetime. When part of the process breaks down, production workers usually remove products from the line, only for them to be fed back on to the line when the problem is rectified. The use of pressure switches in this situation could eradicate the need for workers to take products off the line.

Identifying Pressure Switch Locations
The talent lies in being able to identify the best location for pressure switches and the best type of switch to be used. A bottling operation may need to divert liquid from a vat fed bottling machine when the level of liquid endangers the production process. A pressure switch that alternates when a certain bar level is reached, could divert the flow of liquid to a relief bottler to some load of the main equipment. If products that travel on a conveyor belt build in numbers because of a problem further in the production process, a pressure sensitive mechanical switch could divert function to divert the flow on to a neighbouring production line or a temporary holding area.

A Safer Way to Manufacture
It is impossible to cater for every eventuality, but being able to modify the production process by using suitable switches will create massive savings by reducing downtime. There are many uses of pressure switches, which benefit the health and safety aspect of a production process. Using pressure switches that have displays attached can help your production team recognise a problem before it becomes an issue. When you record pressure readings at set intervals, potentially dangerous situations can be avoided.

Other Uses for Pressure Switches
Although I have focussed on using pressure switches in manufacturing, there are countless other applications from marine or aquarium monitoring, to gas or liquid safety devices to name just a few. There are many ways a pressure switch is useful in lots of situations that are not immediately apparent.

If you would like to find out more about the uses of pressure switches, look at www.impress-sensors.co.uk/.