Before starting news of radar sensor VEGAPULS 42 let us imagine a factory floor. Conveyors hum, tanks fill and empty, machines blink with green and red lights. 

Everything looks smooth from the outside. But inside the control room, engineers know how fragile that balance can be. A slight delay in monitoring tank levels, a sensor that misreads due to steam or temperature changes and suddenly, production stops.

For years, industries have relied on sensors that promised accuracy, but often came with complex installation, high costs, or unpredictable performance. 

It was a familiar struggle for plant operators: choosing between reliability and affordability.

That is, until VEGA introduced the radar sensor VEGAPULS 42.

From Process Plants to Factory Floors

VEGA has always been known for its radar technology in process industries think oil refineries, wastewater plants, and chemical factories. For more than 30 years, the company has been refining radar level measurement. In fact, VEGA is widely recognized as a world leader in this field.

But factory automation is a different beast. Here, speed, hygiene and cost effectiveness often outweigh complexity. A yogurt plant that fills 50,000 cups an hour does not need a sensor that can handle extreme refinery conditions. It needs a sensor that is:

• Simple to integrate with existing systems.
• Reliable under fast changing levels.
• Designed with hygiene in mind for food and pharma environments.

This is where VEGAPULS 42 steps in radar technology, but stripped to the essentials.

Why Radar, and Why Now?

The debate between radar vs. ultrasonic level measurement has been ongoing. Ultrasonic sensors, once popular in automation, face challenges: they are influenced by temperature, dust, and steam. In fast-moving environments, this can mean errors.

Radar, on the other hand, works without contact and is largely immune to process and ambient conditions. That’s why industries increasingly prefer radar. An independent guide on radar vs ultrasonic sensors confirms that radar delivers more reliable readings in difficult conditions.

The problem? Radar was traditionally associated with expensive, over engineered equipment. VEGAPULS 42 changes that by focusing only on what factories really need.

The Birth of Radar Sensor VEGAPULS 42: “Radar Reduced to the Essentials”

Marvin Moser, VEGA’s product manager, explains the philosophy:

“We have carefully integrated cutting-edge technology into the main functions of this sensor, while leaving out what makes it unnecessarily expensive. VEGAPULS 42 is radar reduced to the essentials.”

That means:

• Measuring distances up to 15 meters.
• Operating in temperatures up to 150°C.
• Easy installation with IO-Link communication.
• Hygienic design for industries with strict cleaning standards.

By removing complexity, VEGA has made radar technology accessible to applications that once considered it out of reach.

A Day in the Life of VEGAPULS 42

Let us follow radar sensor VEGAPULS 42 into a real-world scenario:

• Morning in a dairy plant: Tanks fill with milk that needs precise monitoring to prevent overflows. Traditional ultrasonic sensors would struggle with foam, but VEGAPULS 42 reads through it effortlessly.
• Midday in a pharmaceutical lab: Solutions are mixed and transferred in circulation systems. The temperature shifts constantly, but VEGAPULS 42 handles up to 150°C with no issue.
• Evening in a beverage factory: Bottling lines run at high speed. Levels change every second. VEGAPULS 42 keeps up, ensuring that every bottle receives exactly the right fill.

This is not science fiction — it is what factories demand today: speed, accuracy, and hygiene.

IO-Link: The Silent Connector

Another part of the story is IO-Link, the communication technology built into VEGAPULS 42.

IO-Link may not be flashy, but it solves one of automation’s biggest headaches: integration. Instead of complicated setups, IO-Link allows bidirectional communication between the sensor and controller. That means:

• Easy parameter setting.
• Diagnostic data for predictive maintenance.
• Plug-and-play replacement if a sensor ever fails.

More about IO-Link technology can be found at io-link.com. With radar sensor VEGAPULS 42, IO-Link ensures that even small factories can step into the era of Industry 4.0.

Hygiene First

One of the strongest appeals of the radar sensor VEGAPULS 42 is its suitability for hygiene-critical industries.

Food safety regulations by FDA and EFSA demand that every part of a process, from storage tanks to filling machines, is contamination-free. VEGAPULS 42, with its hygienic adapters and non-contact measurement, ensures that no unwanted material enters the process.

This is especially valuable in:

• Dairy plants.
• Breweries.
• Pharmaceutical production lines.

Hygiene and radar go hand in hand here.

A Big Lead in Radar Know-How

VEGA’s advantage lies in its radar chip technology — considered one of the best in the market. The chip inside VEGAPULS 42 has the widest dynamic range, enabling precise performance across many applications.

Instead of repurposing factory automation technology, VEGA leveraged its process automation experience and adapted it. That’s why VEGAPULS 42 feels like a mature solution from day one.

As VEGA likes to put it: “If you can do one, you can do the other.” And after 30 years of radar innovation, they’ve proven they can do both.

Stripped Down, But Never Weak

Every design element of VEGAPULS 42 was examined with one question: “Does this add value to the application?” If the answer was no, it was removed.

This critical thinking ensures:

• High signal quality with minimal cost.
• Faster installation and operation.
• Tailored fit for standard automation applications.

The result: a sensor that is both powerful and simple.

Radar for the Future of Automation

With VEGAPULS 42, VEGA completes its IO-Link portfolio, which now covers:

• Level measurement.
• Point level detection.
• Pressure monitoring.

Together, these sensors create a reliable toolkit for factory automation. And as industries continue to adopt smart manufacturing, radar sensor VEGAPULS 42 will be at the core.

A Sensor with a Story

The radar sensor VEGAPULS 42 is not just another product launch. It is the story of how radar, once reserved for heavy duty process plants, has been reshaped for everyday factory automation.

It’s the story of simplicity winning over complexity, of hygiene meeting speed & of cost-effectiveness without compromise.

For the engineers in control rooms, it means fewer headaches and smoother operations. For industries, it means automation that is reliable, affordable, and future-proof.

In the end, radar sensor VEGAPULS 42 shows us that the best technology is not the one with the most features, but the one that makes life easiest for the people who use it.

To explore the full details of radar sensor VEGAPULS 42, visit VEGA UK or contact them at info.uk@vega.com.