If you want to know which sensor is used in domestic flour mill or domestic atta chakki, this article will help you understand the atta chakki sensors.
Due to technological advancements, machines are becoming more automatic and reducing human involvement.
Home atta chakki, or domestic flour mill, is also a small machine that becomes highly automated by microcontrollers and sensors and that is the reason why people buy automatic atta chakki for home.
You can find & get the best technology with the best home atta chakki available online to buy for your home.
There are various types of sensors available for different functions of atta chakki, but today, I will show you the sensor that helps domestic flour mills to stop automatically when the hopper gets empty.
Which Sensor Is Used In Domestic Flour Mill Or Home Atta Chakki?
Infrared sensors are used in domestic flour mills or home atta chakkis to stop the flour mill once no grains are left in the hopper. Further, this sensor is also used for the auto clean function.
I think now you have got the answer to this question,
How atta chakki stops automatically?
Am I right? Great.
But wait…..
Do you know what an infrared sensor is?
In simple words, infrared sensors are optoelectronic components and are radiation sensitive. Infrared sensors are always used in a pair. One LED or IR photodiode (Black colour) is called the receiver, and the other ( white or crystal colour) is called the transmitter or IR LED.
These IR LEDs emit light to sense any object between them. That’s why IR LED is also called an emitter LED.
As you can see in the below diagram, one LED emits the light, and the other receives it.
Note: We can’t see infrared light, but I have mentioned it in the green dotted line for your explanation purpose only.
When the object in the domestic flour mill, wheat grains, falls on the gear, the light breaks, and the receiver doesn’t get the emitted light.
As a result, the sensor generates an output that is considered, “object detected”.
Why Are IR (Infrared) Sensors Used In Domestic Flour Mill Or Atta Chakki?
Many sensors are available to detect objects, but IR sensors are widely used due to the following advantages over other sensors.
- IR sensors are very cheap
- IR sensors operate on a low power
- No maintenance required
- No physical contact is required to sense motion or object
- Small size
- High response time
What Will Happen To The Domestic Flour Mill If The IR Sensors Don’t Work?
IR sensors are used for the auto on-off system in domestic flour mills or atta chakki. When the sensors are out of order or damaged, they will not work, and the atta chakki will continue even after the hopper is empty.
Auto clean atta chakki also works with the help of these IR sensors. In simple words, auto clean atta chakki run for a further couple of minutes after the hopper gets empty to ensure that no whole grains remain inside the gear or grinding chamber.
This function is known as auto clean. Learn more about auto clean atta chakki.
The same sensors are used with a timer circuit for auto clean function. This means once the hopper gets empty, the sensor will generate the output of the “STOP” signal and give it to the microcontroller.
The microcontroller will activate time delay for two minutes ( or as per set time/delay time), and then the atta chakki will stop.
Can You Test Domestic Flour Mill Sensors?
Yes. You can easily test & check the atta chakki sensor with the help of a multimeter. You will also need any remote control like a TV remote, AC remote, etc.
Testing is possible, but it requires a good multimeter, and you should know how to use it.
If you have never used a multimeter or are not familiar with measuring electrical or electronic circuits, except for these sensors testing, please do not use a multimeter for any electrical circuits.
Testing this sensor is almost at zero risk, whereas any live electrical circuits have a potential of an electrical shock, severe burn, or even death if not handled correctly.
How To Test Domestic Flour Mill Sensors Or Atta Chakki Sensors?
You have to test both the IR LED – transmitter (Crystal colour) and the Photo LED- receiver ( Black colour).
Please refer to the simple diagram for a better understanding of the connection of multimer with LEDs.
Let us test the transmitter LED first.
Steps to test transmitter LED(crystal colour):
Keep the multimeter mode to diode measurement.
Connect the multimeter’s red probe ( red is positive ) to the long pin of the LED (long pin is positive)
Connect the multimeter’s black probe ( black is negative ) to the short pin of the LED (short pin is negative)
See the reading or value on the multimeter’s screen. If you see some value ( 900 to 1000 usually ), the LED is working fine.
You can also connect the positive pin of the LED to the negative probe of the multimeter and the negative pin of the LED to the positive probe of the multimeter to check the transmitter LED for double check. If the LED is ok, you will not see any reading on the multimeter screen.
Now, let us test the receiver LED (black colour):
Steps to test IR receiver LED (black colour):
Keep the multimeter mode for resistance measurement.
Connect the multimeter’s red probe ( red is positive ) to the long pin of the LED (long pin is positive)
Connect the multimeter’s black probe ( black is negative ) to the short pin of the LED (short pin is negative)
Keep an eye on the multimeter’s screen and simultaneously press any remote control button with your hand pointing to the LED. If the screen reading or value changes, the LED is working fine.
And, in case the reading or value doesn’t change even after the remote control button pressing, the LED is damaged or out of order, and you need to replace it.
Can You Repair Domestic Flour Mill ( Home Atta Chakki ) Sensors?
Infrared sensors are not repairable. IR sensors are incredibly compact, and there are no open components you can repair.
These sensors are manufactured with precision machines; therefore, they can’t be repaired once damaged.
How To Replace The Domestic Flour Mill Sensor (Home Atta Chakki Sensor)?
You can easily replace the sensors with new ones.
Switch OFF the complete power supply of the atta chakki.
Open the hopper and backside cover to access the microcontroller.
Remove the sensors from the gear ( small motor ) and microcontroller. ( Always note the connection before removing. However, the connection of atta chakki is very simple.)
Replace the old sensors along with cables.
Tie all cables again.
Please take a trial, and that’s it.
FAQs:
Where to buy atta chakki sensors?
You can buy atta chakki sensors from manufacturers, dealers, or even any local shop that deals in electronics components.
Some local shops also call the atta chakki sensor a gharghanti sensor or grain sensor.
The best and easy way is to buy the atta chakki sensors online on Amazon. You may not find only sensors when you search on amazon, but you can buy the complete set with a microcontroller and sensors.
Atta chakki controller or kit is universal. That means, there is no need to buy a specific brand controller. Just make sure that it is 1 HP for domestic atta chakki.
Buy atta chakki sensor and controllers from Amazon
What is the price of the atta chakki sensor?
If you only buy sensors with cable, you can get them for under 200 rupees. However, it will be hard to buy the sensors separately except in local shops or online.
Are atta chakki sensor, gharghanti sensor, and grain sensors the same?
It depends on the shop or seller. Some shops or sellers call the atta chakki sensor a gharghanti sensor, a flour mill sensor, and some even call it a grain sensor.
However, you should check and confirm the sensors before buying them.
Conclusion:
Which sensors are used in domestic flour mill? I do believe that from now onwards, you will never ask this question again as you already have a fair idea of atta chakki sensors.
Also, you can quickly test and replace the sensors at your home and save the repair cost.
If this article and information have helped you, please share this article with your friends so that they also can understand more about domestic flour mill sensors.