From drilling to material handling to construction machinery, inclinometers are used in a wide array of ways to measure absolute position.
Drilling
Be it outdoor mining and drilling or offshore situations, inclinometers are essential in these processes. Maintaining a constant drill angle is imperative for high performance. Moving away from a given angle can be dangerous and costly to the project. Typically in such applications there is strong vibrations. Therefore a capacitive fluid based measuring technique should be considered if there is a small angular range to work over. If a wide range is necessary then a MEMS based solution might be used but with special filters to compensate for such vibrations.
Material Handling
Under the material handling category, one might consider cranes, AWPs (aerial work platforms), and lifts. Since the load placed on the end of the arm can vary from a few pounds to tons, an inclinometer can help to safely rectify any tipping situations. On the base of the machinery, a high-resolution and low-range measuring device can be employed to determine if it is placed as close to level as possible. Also, connecting a high-range inclinometer directly to the boom is a simple and effective means by which to measure the angular component of the moment-arm when a load is applied.
Conststruction Machinery
Especially in the concrete pump industry, inclinometers find uses because of their high IP rating. Concrete pumps are in and of themselves very tough environments to handle. On top of that, there is the situation that arises when these machines are cleaned with high pressure steam or the like. By avoiding direct coupling to a shaft, a fully enclosed measuring device like an inclinometer will stand up to these rough conditions.
