Automated sensing technology is the key to realize intelligent manufacturing. As Honeywell’s largest sensor manufacturing base in China, Honeywell Nanjing factory produces 300 million sensors per year, providing strong support for the development of intelligent manufacturing.

PFVK135 3BSE007135R1 On April 25, the reporter came to the Honeywell Nanjing factory located in the Jiangning high-tech Zone in Nanjing. Put on goggles, walked into the workshop, the factory director Chen Yong pointed to a line said, in this workshop, to produce 9.5 sensors per second, “there are too many kinds of sensors, there are pressure, there are flow, temperature, gas, and new energy vehicles with current sensors, battery safety warning sensors and so on.” Life is inseparable from sensors everywhere, such as high-speed trains and subways in the process of the door must not be opened, then how to avoid accidents? The travel limit switch on the door needs to be extremely stable and reliable, and can be used millions of times without problems. Another patient needs anesthesia for surgery, but also needs sensors to control the flow of drugs, pressure, etc., and the slightest mistake is a human life.”

“Honeywell Nanjing is a global factory that produces sensors for global service. The largest product shipped from Nanjing is Hall sensors, which are used for speed and position detection in various motor controls and are widely used in the Chinese market.” Chen Yong said.

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Hu Yu, R&D director of Sensing and Security Technology at Honeywell Intelligent Industrial Technologies, has worked in the German semiconductor industry for ten years. In response to the rapid development of the domestic new energy vehicle industry, a few years ago, he was entrusted with the responsibility of developing sensors for new energy vehicles. Today, their products are widely used in more than one million new energy vehicles, helping customers improve battery safety, perform accurate current and equipment condition monitoring, accurately measure range, optimize energy management and circuit control, and more.

PFVK135 3BSE007135R1 “On new energy vehicles, we have battery safety sensors that detect thermal runaway, and we have current sensors for battery management. For example, battery thermal runaway is a safety hazard. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in electric cars. The battery has a failure mode, and each failure mode may cause catastrophic failure, so the state has formulated GB 38031-2020 “Safety requirements for power batteries for electric vehicles” to introduce a safety alarm mechanism to reduce the risk.” Hu Yu said, “According to the standard of GB 38031-2020 version, if there is a thermal runaway, passengers should have at least five minutes to escape.” To solve this problem, we have developed two products. BPS series battery safety warning sensor can detect the abnormal state in the battery pack in time and output an early warning signal through sensitive perception of pressure changes, while BAS series aerosol sensor can detect the abnormal aerosol concentration index and detect the burning or explosion situation in advance. The two sensors have different mechanisms and are suitable for different battery types, effectively improving the reliability of battery pack safety monitoring. In addition, we are also discussing with industry experts to make further revisions to this safety standard.”

“We also have ASIL-C (Automotive Functional Safety Level C) current sensors for battery management systems. Its high precision, large range, and design architecture create safety redundancy mechanisms that allow vehicles to accurately and reliably determine battery level and health. This is one of our current star products, and more and more customers are using it.” Hu Yu said, “I now have an occupational disease, see the new energy vehicles running on the road, will think it will use our products?”