tachometer is used to calculate the angular speed of a rotating shaft in revolutions per minutes (rpm).

Tachometers are used in all factory and manufacturing operations where timing and precision are imperative to consistent and quality production. Automobile tachometers measure the car engine's rpm

Types of Tachometers
Tachometers can use an uncomplicated AC or DC generator to gauge the shaft rotation speed by measuring the voltage produced by the generator or the output signal's frequency. As the speed increases, the magnitude and frequency of the voltage increase proportionately. Frequency-type tachometers follow the same principle, but their operation is a bit more complicated. Read more: Types of Tachometers | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5632629_typestachometers.html#ixzz1v0VbfXjk

Voltage-Based Tachometers

Tachometers that use voltage to determine speed include the DC generator tachometer and the drag cup tachometer. The basis of their operation is simple: The amount of voltage produced relies solely on how fast they turn. These types of tachometers are also capable of providing the rotation direction along with the speed, which is essential to provide the necessary feedback signals. A simple voltmeter is commonly used to provide this important information.

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Frequency-Type Tachometers

The frequency-type tachometer calculates the number of pulses produced by a rotating field tachometer, toothed rotor tachometer or photocell tachometer. They require more highly developed digital circuitry than voltage based tachometers to complete the calculation process and produce an accurate rpm value. The rotating field and the toothed rotor tachometers generate a waveform; the photocell type utilizes a rotating disk with windows that let light in through each window while the disk spins. This process ultimately produces a pulse in the photocell when light strikes it.

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Most Common Manufacturing Uses for Tachometers

Conveyors and plastic injection molding machines heavily rely on tachometers to measure and control the speed of operation. In conveyor systems, the tachometers measure the speed of motor shafts and motor drives central to effective production control. In molding machines, they calculate the screw shaft rotation speed that regulates the flow of plastic pulled into the injection barrel, which must be consistent to produce uniform parts.

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How Do Tachometers Work?

By Whitney Arana, eHow Contributor

Tachometers, in their most basic forms, are devices that measure the speed of an object. Most commonly, they measure the rotation of a mechanism, like the engine shaft in a car. Traditionally, tachometers are dials with a needle pointing to the current speed in RPMs (revolutions per minute). However, with the onset of new reading systems, the use of digital tachometers has risen sharply.

Dial

The dial tells the driver the tachometer's reading. In a car, it is located on the dashboard. The instrument itself measures the RPMs of the engine drive shaft. The device is necessary in order to regulate how hard the engine is being worked. The way in which the measurements themselves are taken, though, can vary.

Generator

Engines with ignition systems usually utilize a small generator attached to the engine drive shaft. In this case, the tachometer is actually a voltage meter, meaning that it counts the pulsations of voltage in the ignition system. The output voltage is proportional to the shaft's speed so measuring voltage is converted into an accurate measurement in RPMs. The voltage is generated via a permanent magnet on the shaft. There is a toothed wheel made of iron, which becomes magnetized as the magnet passes the teeth. Then, as the magnet rotates away from the teeth, the wheel becomes de-magnetized. As these changes occur, an electric field forms around the permanent magnet. This field affects the electric charges in a wire coil that surrounds the magnet, generating electricity. As the tooth approaches the magnet, the current flows one way in the coil. As the tooth moves away from the magnet, the coil's current switches direction. The tachometer reads the frequency with which the coil's current changes direction.

Additionally, if the engine turns more quickly, the change in the magnetic field becomes more radical, generating higher voltage. The tachometer also uses this information to inform its reading.

Sparks

A simpler--yet less common--method is to measure the rate at which sparks are released into the engine's cylinders. This is obviously only useful in a gasoline engine, which uses spark plugs to provide the explosive heat energy that moves the vehicle.

Laser

A newer version that is quickly gaining popularity due to convenience and accuracy is the laser tachometer. This type requires no physical contact between the tachometer and the engine shaft. Basically, it beams infrared light at the shaft. One place on the rotating shaft is reflective. The tachometer measures the rate at which the light is reflected back onto the tachometer.

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What Are Digital Tachometers Used For?

Going Digital

Digital tachometers can use a pulse that senses the revolutions of the object, resulting in a number you see in a digital readout. Digital tachometers can also use optical sensors like a laser or reflective tape to measure rotations of an object.

Riding in the Car

You are probably familiar with the tachometer in your car, which measures the number of revolutions per minute (rpm) that your engine's drive shaft spins. Digital models allow you to see the rpm history for a car to help you fine-tune the car's performance.
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Big and Small

Digital tachometers come in different sizes and prices. Some are contact-less while others have connectors. You can find micro digital tachometers for use on model planes or harvester tachometers that are much larger.

Sailing the Seven Seas

You can use a digital tachometer to counts the revolutions of a ship's propeller so you can calculate the speed your ship is traveling. For your measurement, you need to figure in the weight of the ship's cargo, weather and any barnacles or other objects that could slow the speed.

Flying through the Clouds

On an airplane, you can use a digital tachometer like Horizon Instruments' P-1000. Like many standard tachometers, this digital model uses warning indicators to let you know when the engine's revolutions are malfunctioning.

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How Does an Analog Tachometer Work?

tachometer is a gauge for indicating the rotational speed of a car's engine. Traditional mechanical tachometers had an analog needle to indicate engine RPM. Some modern electronic instruments also use an analog needle rather than a digital display Read more: How Does an Analog Tachometer Work? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_7879650_analog-tachometerwork.html#ixzz1v0WsD6lq

Mechanical Instruments

The operation of a mechanical tachometer is similar to that of a mechanical speedometer. A flexible cable with a rotating shaft connects a moving part in the engine or transmission to the gauge. Inside the instrument, the rotating shaft controls the position of a needle to indicate the engine speed.

Principle of Operation

The heart of a mechanical tachometer is an eddy current sensor that contains a movable magnet driven by the rotating input shaft. The spinning magnet in the sensor imparts a force on the indicator needle proportional to the engine speed, while a spring counteracts the sensor force.

Electronic Instruments

An electronic tachometer uses a magnetic pickup positioned near a rotating engine part to produce electrical pulses at a frequency proportional to the engine speed. Circuitry in the meter converts the pulse frequency for display of engine RPM using an analog needle or a digital readout.

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The Function of a Tachometer

The function of a tachometer is to measure the speed at which an object rotates, according to DimensionsGuide.com. For example, a tachometer on the dashboard of a car measures how fast the drive shaft turns in revolutions per minute, or rpm Read more: The Function of a Tachometer | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_7510034_function-tachometer.html#ixzz1v0XLTLP7

types

A conventional tachometer must be in contact with the object that is turning. This is not the case with a laser tachometer, which uses a light beam focused on the moving object and measures its speed by the rate at which the light is reflected back.

Applications

A tachometer can be used for different purposes. Car mechanics use it to check the rate at which sparks are generated for combustion. Drivers can use it to shift a manual transmission at different rpm, or to prevent excessive engine wear that can result from high rpm.

Reading the Gauge

Tachometers in cars are usually dials with a needle that moves and indicates rpm. These gauges usually divide the scale into safe and dangerous levels. There are also newer tachometers that have digital readouts.

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