A friend has asked for help with a problem he has at his commercial woodworking shop. All of his power tools have vacuum hoses attached with appropriate gates that open when a particular tool is turned on. Sawdust created by the tool is vacuumed through a hose system and deposited in a large bin in the basement of the building.
If the sawdust is allowed to accumulate above the top of the container it clogs hoses and requires several hours of work to clear. The friend wants some form of sensor to illuminate a light in his workshop when the bin is perhaps 3/4 full so that someone can go down and empty it into a separate container.
Previously, a system was installed that apparently involved an electric motor with a long shaft with some sort of fan blades at the end of the shaft. When the sawdust reached the level of the blades the motor would be stopped and that somehow illuminated a warning light. This system failed at some point and was removed and discarded.
Is there another method that would work equally well or should I look at the motor solution again? I would program a picaxe to work with whatever sensor is appropriate to illuminate the warning light. I'm not sure if the motor solution used the increased current of a stalled motor, or whether some sort of pulse measuring sytem was used, and I assume current to the motor was removed at the same time the light was turned on. Because of the dust, I don't think that any kind of IR or light sensor would work but perhaps it would.
Any thoughts appreciated.
If the sawdust is allowed to accumulate above the top of the container it clogs hoses and requires several hours of work to clear. The friend wants some form of sensor to illuminate a light in his workshop when the bin is perhaps 3/4 full so that someone can go down and empty it into a separate container.
Previously, a system was installed that apparently involved an electric motor with a long shaft with some sort of fan blades at the end of the shaft. When the sawdust reached the level of the blades the motor would be stopped and that somehow illuminated a warning light. This system failed at some point and was removed and discarded.
Is there another method that would work equally well or should I look at the motor solution again? I would program a picaxe to work with whatever sensor is appropriate to illuminate the warning light. I'm not sure if the motor solution used the increased current of a stalled motor, or whether some sort of pulse measuring sytem was used, and I assume current to the motor was removed at the same time the light was turned on. Because of the dust, I don't think that any kind of IR or light sensor would work but perhaps it would.
Any thoughts appreciated.