X Foam · Edge-vision instrument
Catch foam before it reaches the edge
X Foam watches the surface of a tank and measures how much of it is foam, how close that foam is to the lip, and which way it is heading. It runs on the tank and writes to Modbus registers. Your PLC stays in charge of the tank and decides what to do with the numbers.
See how it works →Overflow prevention
Coverage, edge distance, and trend, before the spill
An operator can tell a tank is about to foam over by looking at it. X Foam does the same read, continuously, and puts a number on it. It separates foam from water on the surface and reports coverage from 0 to 100 percent, how close the foam front is to the overflow lip, and whether it is rising or settling.
That turns an overflow from something you react to into something you see coming. The instrument advises an antifoam dose; the PLC holds the interlock and decides whether to act.
What it measures
Four readings your PLC can act on
Each is written to a Modbus holding register, continuously, so the control system reads foam like any other level.
- Surface coverage
- Continuous 0 to 100 percent foam cover.
- Edge proximity
- How close the foam front is to the overflow lip.
- Trend
- Direction and rate: rising toward the edge, or settling back.
- Advisory dose
- A recommended antifoam dose, written as a number for the PLC to accept or ignore.
cam → edge → register → plc
From the tank surface to your PLC
- 1 cam · FIELD OF VIEW
Camera
A fixed camera looks down at the tank surface. Power and a network drop are all it needs.
- 2 edge · INFERENCE
On-device inference
The device works out which part of the surface is foam and measures it on the spot: how much of the tank it covers and how close it is to the lip, and whether either is growing.
- 3 register · WRITE
Modbus registers
Coverage and its trend are written to Modbus TCP holding registers, continuously, with an advisory dose alongside.
- 4 plc · ACTUATE
Your PLC / DCS
The PLC reads the registers, keeps every interlock, and decides whether to dose.
No cloud. No GPU rack.
Datasheet
What a controls engineer needs to scope it
| Measures | Foam surface coverage (0–100%), edge proximity, trend |
|---|---|
| Output | Modbus TCP holding registers (4–20 mA optional) |
| Reading | How much of the surface is foam, measured continuously on the device |
| Control | Advisory only; the PLC keeps every interlock |
| Compute | On-device at the edge, no cloud and no GPU rack |
| Network | Power and a network drop; offline-capable, nothing leaves site |
| Mounting | Self-contained camera, fixed over the tank |
| Relocation | Moves between tanks in minutes; no routine maintenance |
Running in the field
On trial on the process tanks of a food plant
X Foam is on trial on the process tanks of an Australian food plant, reporting coverage and trend to the control room. On the trial tank, modelled antifoam use came out around 50% lower than before. That figure belongs to that tank and its foam; yours will differ. The camera moves between tanks in minutes, so one instrument can cover whichever tank is foaming this week.
Questions
Common questions
- What does X Foam measure?
- How much of a tank surface is foam, from 0 to 100 percent, how close that foam is to the overflow lip, and whether it is rising or settling. It writes those to Modbus registers continuously.
- Does X Foam control the dosing pump?
- No. It advises an antifoam dose and reports the numbers behind it. Your PLC keeps every interlock and decides whether to act. The camera measures; the control system actuates.
- How does it tell foam from water?
- It reads the surface the way an operator does and marks out which part of it is foam, then measures that area. It is calibrated against your own tank at commissioning, because foam on a food plant and foam on a wastewater tank do not look alike.
- Does it need cloud connectivity?
- Not to run. Commissioning takes a few hours with one of our engineers either on site or connected remotely, to aim the camera and calibrate it against your foam. After that X Foam runs on the device and can be left fully offline. Nothing leaves site.
- Can one camera cover more than one tank?
- One at a time. Each install covers the tank it is mounted over. Moving the camera to another tank takes minutes, so one instrument can follow the tank that is foaming.
Put an instrument on your hardest measurement.
Tell us which cell or tank. A trial runs on your own froth or foam before anything is committed.
X Float The same camera-to-register path, on flotation froth.