AventicsR412010863Series AF1 Compressed Air Flow Sensor 150-2000 l/min, 0-16 bar, 4-20 mA + 2x PNP/NPN, M12 5-Pin, AS3 Frame Size

Product Description

What this part is

This is an AVENTICS Series AF1 compressed-air flow sensor, part number R412010863, in the air-supply-on-the-right configuration. It measures volumetric air flow from 150 to 2000 l/min using a diaphragm measuring principle, displays the reading on an integral LED display in l/h, l/sec, m³/h or gal/h, and reports it electrically as a 4–20 mA analogue signal plus two independently configurable PNP/NPN switching outputs. It is a module in the AVENTICS AS-series modular air preparation system, built to frame size AS3.

Why a flow sensor on a compressed-air header pays for itself:
Compressed air is usually the most expensive utility in a plant per unit of delivered work, and it is normal for 20–30 % of everything a compressor generates to be lost through leaks. The problem is that leaks are invisible on a compressor run-hour meter — the machine simply runs more. A flow sensor in the header makes the loss measurable. Log the 4–20 mA output overnight or over a weekend with production down and whatever flow you still read is, by definition, leakage plus unattended consumption. That number converts directly into kilowatt-hours and dollars, and it gives you a baseline to re-measure after a leak survey so you can prove the repair worked. A 150–2000 l/min range suits a branch header or a mid-sized machine feed rather than the discharge of a large central compressor.

Why the analogue output is 4–20 mA and not 0–10 V:
The choice matters more than it looks. A current loop carries the same current at every point in the loop, so voltage drop along a long cable does not corrupt the reading, and a difference in ground potential between the control panel and the machine frame does not shift the zero. That is exactly the situation on a compressed-air header, where the sensor may sit 30–50 m from the PLC. The second advantage is live zero: a genuine zero-flow reading sits at 4 mA, so 0 mA can only mean a broken wire, an unpowered sensor or a failed loop. On a 0–10 V sensor, 0 V and no-flow look identical and a cut cable reads as a perfectly plausible measurement. If your input card genuinely needs voltage, this is the wrong part number: the 0–10 V DC equivalents in the same family are R412010638 and R412010637.

Published ratings

Measuring range Qn: 150 – 2000 l/minMeasuring principle: diaphragmAccuracy: ±3 % of full scale per DIN 1343Response time: Working pressure: 0 – 16 barMedium: compressed air, maximum particle size 5 µmSupply voltage: 15 – 30 V DC, maximum current consumption 300 mAAnalogue output: 4 – 20 mASwitching outputs: 2 x PNP/NPN, 100 mA maximum per digital outputDisplay: LED; selectable units l/h, l/sec, m³/h, gal/hAmbient and medium temperature: −10 °C to +50 °CProtection class: IP65Frame size: AS3Mounting orientation: anyWeight: 0.395 kgMaterials: aluminium and polyamide housing, ABS front plateCertificates: CE, EMC directive

Electrical connection and pinout

The sensor terminates in an M12 x 1, 5-pin plug. The catalogue pin assignment is:

Pin 1 — 24 V DC supplyPin 2 — OUT 1 (switching output)Pin 3 — 0 VPin 4 — OUT 2 (switching output)Pin 5 — Analogue OUT (4 – 20 mA)
One practical note on the IP65 rating: the catalogue qualifies it as applying only with the plug correctly mounted. An unmated M12 connector is not sealed, so IP65 is a property of the finished, cabled installation and not of the sensor sitting on a shelf.

Why this sensor has no threaded ports

This is the single most common surprise with the AF1. It is not a pipe-mounted inline sensor with G-threaded inlet and outlet. It is a frame-size AS3 module that mounts into an AVENTICS AS-series maintenance unit and seals against the adjacent modules. If you intend to run it standalone in a length of pipe, you additionally need the W05 block assembly kit in the port size you want: R412007366 for G 3/8 or R412007367 for G 1/2. Budget for that kit before you buy, and check which frame size your existing air-prep station is — the AS series spans AS1, AS2, AS3 and AS5, and only AS3 will mate.

Installation and setup notes

The catalogue carries two installation restrictions that are easy to violate and both of them degrade the reading rather than announcing themselves as faults.

Do not install this sensor downstream of a regulator or filter-regulator.Prefilter liquid oil and water out of the air ahead of the sensor. The pressure dew point must be at least 15 °C below the ambient and medium temperature and must not exceed 3 °C.
The reason behind both is the diaphragm measuring principle. The sensor infers volumetric flow from the differential pressure developed across a known restriction, and that inference assumes a stable, known upstream condition and a single-phase gas. A regulator immediately upstream actively varies the pressure the sensor is referencing, so the flow calculation drifts with the regulator’s own behaviour. Entrained liquid changes the effective density and can wet or load the diaphragm, which shows up as a slow zero drift — the kind of error that quietly ruins a leak-baseline study because the numbers still look reasonable. Put the sensor upstream of regulation, downstream of drying and filtration.

Branding, lineage and lifecycle

The Bosch Rexroth reference that appears alongside this part number reflects lineage, not the current designation. AVENTICS is the Bosch Rexroth pneumatics business after it was spun off, and AVENTICS was subsequently acquired by Emerson. So the trail on this part reads Bosch Rexroth Pneumatics → AVENTICS → Emerson, and you will find it catalogued under any of the three depending on the vintage of the document.

R412010863 does not return a current Emerson or aventics.com product page; it appears in the archived 2016 AVENTICS pneumatics catalogue. The actively catalogued flow sensor family is Series AF2, covering roughly 8–2445 l/min and 22–6490 l/min. No formal AF1-to-AF2 migration bulletin has been published, so AF2 should be treated as the successor family rather than a confirmed form-fit-function replacement for this part — if you are keeping an existing AS3 station intact, the AF1 module is what fits it.

Interchange guidance

The part number is written various ways across supplier records and internal BOMs: R412010863, R-412-010-863 and R 412 010 863 all refer to this item. Within the AF1 range, the meaningful variables are the analogue output type and the supply-side orientation, so confirm both before cross-referencing: this unit is 4–20 mA with air supply on the right, and the 0–10 V DC counterparts are R412010638 and R412010637.