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ProximitySensorsCompared:Inductive,Capacitive,
Photoelectric,andUltrasonic
MotionSystemDesign
ThomasA.KinneyApplicationEngineerBaumerElectric
Sat,2001090112:02
Proximitysensorsdetectthepresenceorabsenceofobjectsusingelectromagneticfields,light,andsound.
Therearemanytypes,eachsuitedtospecificapplicationsandenvironments.

Proximitysensorsdetectthepresenceorabsenceofobjectsusingelectromagnetic
fields,light,andsound.Therearemanytypes,eachsuitedtospecificapplications
andenvironments.

Inductivesensors

Thesenoncontactproximitysensorsdetectferroustargets,ideallymildsteelthicker
thanonemillimeter.Theyconsistoffourmajorcomponents:aferritecorewith
coils,anoscillator,aSchmitttrigger,andanoutputamplifier.Theoscillatorcreates
asymmetrical,oscillatingmagneticfieldthatradiatesfromtheferritecoreandcoil
arrayatthesensingface.Whenaferroustargetentersthismagneticfield,small
independentelectricalcurrentscallededdycurrentsareinducedonthemetals
surface.Thischangesthereluctance(naturalfrequency)ofthemagneticcircuit,
whichinturnreducestheoscillationamplitude.Asmoremetalentersthesensing
fieldtheoscillationamplitudeshrinks,andeventuallycollapses.(ThisistheEddy
CurrentKilledOscillatororECKOprinciple.)TheSchmitttriggerrespondstothese
amplitudechanges,andadjustssensoroutput.Whenthetargetfinallymovesfrom
thesensorsrange,thecircuitbeginstooscillateagain,andtheSchmitttrigger
returnsthesensortoitspreviousoutput.

Ifthesensorhasanormallyopenconfiguration,itsoutputisanonsignalwhen
thetargetentersthesensingzone.Withnormallyclosed,itsoutputisanoffsignal
withthetargetpresent.Outputisthenreadbyanexternalcontrolunit(e.g.PLC,
motioncontroller,smartdrive)thatconvertsthesensoronandoffstatesinto
useableinformation.Inductivesensorsaretypicallyratedbyfrequency,oron/off
cyclespersecond.Theirspeedsrangefrom10to20Hzinac,or500Hzto5kHzin
dc.Becauseofmagneticfieldlimitations,inductivesensorshavearelativelynarrow
sensingrangefromfractionsofmillimetersto60mmonaveragethough
longerrangespecialtyproductsareavailable.

Related

PracticalTipsforSpecifyingSensors
SortingOutSensors

BasicsofRotaryEncoders:OverviewandNewTechnologies

Toaccommodatecloserangesinthetightconfinesofindustrialmachinery,geometricandmountingstyles
availableincludeshielded(flush),unshielded(nonflush),tubular,andrectangularflatpack.Tubular
sensors,byfarthemostpopular,areavailablewithdiametersfrom3to40mm.

Butwhatinductive
sensorslackinrange,theymakeupinenvironmentadaptabilityandmetalsensingversatility.Withno
movingpartstowear,propersetupguaranteeslonglife.SpecialdesignswithIPratingsof67andhigherare
capableofwithstandingthebuildupofcontaminantssuchascuttingfluids,grease,andnonmetallicdust,
bothintheairandonthesensoritself.Itshouldbenotedthatmetalliccontaminants(e.g.filingsfrom
cuttingapplications)sometimesaffectthesensorsperformance.Inductivesensorhousingistypically
nickelplatedbrass,stainlesssteel,orPBTplastic.

Capacitivesensors

Capacitiveproximitysensorscandetectbothmetallicandnonmetallictargetsinpowder,granulate,liquid,
andsolidform.This,alongwiththeirabilitytosensethroughnonferrousmaterials,makesthemidealfor
sightglassmonitoring,tankliquidleveldetection,andhopperpowderlevelrecognition.

Incapacitivesensors,thetwoconductionplates(atdifferentpotentials)arehousedinthesensingheadand
positionedtooperatelikeanopencapacitor.Airactsasaninsulatoratrestthereislittlecapacitance
betweenthetwoplates.Likeinductivesensors,theseplatesarelinkedtoanoscillator,aSchmitttrigger,and
anoutputamplifier.Asatargetentersthesensingzonethecapacitanceofthetwoplatesincreases,causing
oscillatoramplitudechange,inturnchangingtheSchmitttriggerstate,andcreatinganoutputsignal.Note
thedifferencebetweentheinductiveandcapacitivesensors:inductivesensorsoscillateuntilthetargetis
presentandcapacitivesensorsoscillatewhenthetargetispresent.
 Becausecapacitive
sensinginvolveschargingplates,itissomewhatslowerthaninductivesensing...rangingfrom10to50Hz,
withasensingscopefrom3to60mm.Manyhousingstylesareavailablecommondiametersrangefrom12
to60mminshieldedandunshieldedmountingversions.Housing(usuallymetalorPBTplastic)isruggedto
allowmountingveryclosetothemonitoredprocess.Ifthesensorhasnormallyopenandnormallyclosed
options,itissaidtohaveacomplimentaryoutput.Duetotheirabilitytodetectmosttypesofmaterials,
capacitivesensorsmustbekeptawayfromnontargetmaterialstoavoidfalsetriggering.Forthisreason,if
theintendedtargetcontainsaferrousmaterial,aninductivesensorisamorereliableoption.

Photoelectricsensors

Photoelectricsensorsaresoversatilethattheysolvethebulkofproblemsputtoindustrialsensing.Because
photoelectrictechnologyhassorapidlyadvanced,theynowcommonlydetecttargetslessthan1mmin
diameter,orfrom60maway.Classifiedbythemethodinwhichlightisemittedanddeliveredtothe
receiver,manyphotoelectricconfigurationsareavailable.However,allphotoelectricsensorsconsistofa
fewofbasiccomponents:eachhasanemitterlightsource(LightEmittingDiode,laserdiode),aphotodiode
orphototransistorreceivertodetectemittedlight,andsupportingelectronicsdesignedtoamplifythe
receiversignal.Theemitter,sometimescalledthesender,transmitsabeamofeithervisibleorinfraredlight
tothedetectingreceiver.
Allphotoelectricsensorsoperateundersimilarprinciples.Identifyingtheiroutputisthusmadeeasy
darkonandlightonclassificationsrefertolightreceptionandsensoroutputactivity.Ifoutputisproduced
whennolightisreceived,thesensorisdarkon.Outputfromlightreceived,anditslighton.Eitherway,
decidingonlightonordarkonpriortopurchasingisrequiredunlessthesensorisuseradjustable.(Inthat
case,outputstylecanbespecifiedduringinstallationbyflippingaswitchorwiringthesensoraccordingly.)

Throughbeam

Themostreliablephotoelectricsensingiswiththroughbeamsensors.Separatedfromthereceiverbya
separatehousing,theemitterprovidesaconstantbeamoflightdetectionoccurswhenanobjectpassing
betweenthetwobreaksthebeam.Despiteitsreliability,throughbeamistheleastpopularphotoelectric
setup.Thepurchase,installation,andalignment

oftheemitterandreceiverintwoopposinglocations,whichmaybequiteadistanceapart,arecostlyand
laborious.Withnewlydevelopeddesigns,throughbeamphotoelectricse

nsorstypicallyofferthelongestsensingdistanceofphotoelectricsensors25mandoverisnow
commonplace.Newlaserdiodeemittermodelscantransmitawellcollimatedbeam60mforincreased
accuracyanddetection.Atthesedistances,somethroughbeamlasersensorsarecapableofdetectingan
objectthesizeofaflyatcloserange,thatbecomes0.01mm.Butwhiletheselasersensorsincrease
precision,responsespeedisthesameaswithnonlasersensorstypicallyaround500Hz.

Oneabilityuniquetothroughbeamphotoelectricsensorsiseffectivesensinginthepresenceofthick
airbornecontaminants.Ifpollutantsbuildupdirectlyontheemitterorreceiver,thereisahigher
probabilityoffalsetriggering.However,somemanufacturersnowincorporatealarmoutputsintothe
sensorscircuitrythatmonitortheamountoflighthittingthereceiver.Ifdetectedlightdecreasestoa
specifiedlevelwithoutatargetinplace,thesensorsendsawarningbymeansofabuiltinLEDoroutput
wire.

Throughbeamphotoelectricsensorshavecommercialandindustrialapplications.Athome,forexample,
theydetectobstructionsinthepathofgaragedoorsthesensorshavesavedmanyabicycleandcarfrom
beingsmashed.Objectsonindustrialconveyors,ontheotherhand,canbedetectedanywherebetweenthe
emitterandreceiver,aslongastherearegapsbetweenthemonitoredobjects,andsensorlightdoesnot
burnthroughthem.(Burnthroughmighthappenwiththinorlightlycoloredobjectsthatallowemitted
lighttopassthroughtothereceiver.)

Retroreflective

Retroreflectivesensorshavethenextlongestphotoelectricsensingdistance,withsomeunitscapableof
monitoringrangesupto10m.Operatingsimilartothroughbeamsensorswithoutreachingthesame
sensingdistances,outputoccurswhenaconstantbeamisbroken.Butinsteadofseparatehousingsfor
emitterandreceiver,botharelocatedinthesamehousing,facingthesamedirection.Theemitterproduces
alaser,infrared,orvisiblelightbeamandprojectsittowardsaspeciallydesignedreflector,whichthen
deflectsthebeambacktothereceiver.Detectionoccurswhenthelightpathisbrokenorotherwise
disturbed.

Onereasonforusingaretroreflectivesensoroverathroughbeamsensorisfortheconvenienceofone
wiringlocationtheopposingsideonlyrequiresreflectormounting.Thisresultsinbigcostsavingsinboth
partsandtime.However,veryshinyorreflectiveobjectslikemirrors,cans,andplasticwrappedjuiceboxes
createachallengeforretroreflectivephotoelectricsensors.Thesetargetssometimesreflectenoughlightto
trickthereceiverintothinkingthebeamwasnotinterrupted,causingerroneousoutputs.

Somemanufacturershaveaddressedthisproblemwithpolarizationfiltering,whichallowsdetectionoflight
onlyfromspeciallydesignedreflectors...andnoterroneoustargetreflections.
Diffuse

Asinretroreflectivesensors,diffusesensoremittersandreceiversarelocatedinthesamehousing.Butthe
targetactsasthereflector,sothatdetectionisoflightreflectedoffthedist

urbanceobject.Theemittersendsoutabeamoflight(mostoftenapulsedinfrared,visiblered,orlaser)
thatdiffusesinalldirections,fillingadetectionarea.Thetargetthenenterstheareaanddeflectspartofthe
beambacktothereceiver.Detectionoccursandoutputisturnedonoroff(dependinguponwhetherthe
sensorislightonordarkon)whensufficientlightfallsonthereceiver.

Diffusesensorscanbefoundonpublicwashroomsinks,wheretheycontrolautomaticfaucets.Handsplaced
underthesprayheadactasreflector,triggering(inthiscase)theopeningofawatervalve.Becausethe
targetisthereflector,diffusephotoelectricsensorsareoftenatthemercyoftargetmaterialandsurface
propertiesanonreflectivetargetsuchasmatteblackpaperwillhaveasignificantlydecreasedsensing
rangeascomparedtoabrightwhitetarget.Butwhatseemsadrawbackonthesurfacecanactuallybe
useful.

Becausediffusesensorsaresomewhatcolordependent,certainversionsaresuitablefordistinguishingdark
andlighttargetsinapplicationsthatrequiresortingorqualitycontrolbycontrast.Withonlythesensor
itselftomount,diffusesensorinstallationisusuallysimplerthanwiththroughbeamandretroreflective
types.Sensingdistancedeviationandfalsetriggerscausedbyreflectivebackgroundsledtothedevelopment
ofdiffusesensorsthatfocustheyseetargetsandignorebackground.

Therearetwowaysinwhichthisisachievedthefirstandmostcommonisthroughfixedfieldtechnology.
Theemittersendsoutabeamoflight,justlikeastandarddiffusephotoelectricsensor,butfortwo
receivers.Oneisfocusedonthedesiredsensingsweetspot,andtheotheronthelongrangebackground.A
comparatorthendetermineswhetherthelongrangereceiverisdetectinglightofhigherintensitythanwhat
isbeingpickingupthefocusedreceiver.Ifso,theoutputstaysoff.Onlywhenfocusedreceiverlightintensity
ishigherwillanoutputbeproduced.

Thesecondfocusingmethodtakesitastepfurther,employinganarrayofreceiverswithanadjustable
sensingdistance.Thedeviceusesapotentiometertoelectricallyadjustthesensingrange.Suchsensor

soperatebestattheirpresetsweetspot.Allowingforsmallpartrecognition,theyalsoprovidehigher
tolerancesintargetareacutoffspecificationsandimprovedcolorsensingcapabilities.However,target
surfacequalities,suchasglossiness,canproducevariedresults.Inaddition,highlyreflectiveobjectsoutside
thesensingareatendtosendenoughlightbacktothereceiversforanoutput,especiallywhenthereceivers
areelectricallyadjusted.

Tocombattheselimitations,somesensormanufacturersdevelopedatechnologyknownastruebackground
suppressionbytriangulation.
Atruebackgroundsuppressionsensoremitsabeamoflightexactlylikeastandard,fixedfielddiffuse
sensor.Butinsteadofdetectinglightintensity,backgroundsuppressionunitsrelycompletelyontheangleat
whichthebeamreturnstothesensor.

Toaccomplishthis,backgroundsuppressionsensorsusetwo(ormore)fixedreceiversaccompaniedbya
focusinglens.Theangleofreceivedlightismechanicallyadjusted,allowingforasteepcutoffbetweentarget
andbackground...sometimesassmallas0.1mm.Thisisamorestablemethodwhenreflectivebackgrounds
arepresent,orwhentargetcolorvariationsareanissuereflectivityandcoloraffecttheintensityof
reflectedlight,butnottheanglesofrefractionusedbytriangulationbasedbackgroundsuppression
photoelectricsensors.

Ultrasonicsensors

Ultrasonicproximitysensorsareusedinmanyautomatedproductionprocesses.Theyemploysoundwaves
todetectobjects,socolorandtransparencydonotaffectthem(thoughextremetexturesmight).Thismakes
themidealforavarietyofapplications,includingthelongrangedetectionofclearglassandplastic,distance
measurement,continuousfluidandgranulatelevelcontrol,andpaper,sheetmetal,andwoodstacking.

Themostcommonconfigurationsarethesameasinphotoelectricsensing:throughbeam,retroreflective,
anddiffuseversions.Ultrasonicdiffuseproximitysensorsemployasonictransducer,whichemitsaseriesof
sonicpulses,thenlistensfortheirreturnfromthereflectingtarget.Oncethereflectedsignalisreceived,the
sensorsignalsanoutputtoacontroldevice.Sensingrangesextendto2.5m.Sensitivity,definedasthetime
windowforlistencyclesversussendorchirpcycles,maybeadjustedviaateachinbuttonorpotentiometer.
Whilestandarddiffuseultrasonicsensorsgiveasimplepresent/absentoutput,someproduceanalog
signals,indicatingdistancewitha4to20mAor0to10Vdcvariableoutput.Thisoutputcaneasilybe
convertedintouseabledistanceinformation.

Ultrasonicretroreflectivesensorsalsodetectobjectswithinaspecifiedsensingdistance,butbymeasuring
propagationtime.Thesensoremitsaseriesofsonicpulsesthatbounceofffixed,opposingreflectors(any
flathardsurfaceapieceofmachinery,aboard).Thesoundwavesmustreturntothesensorwithinauser
adjustedtimeintervaliftheydont,itisassumedanobjectisobstructingthesensingpathandthesensor
signalsanoutputaccordingly.Becausethesensorlistensforchangesinpropagationtimeasopposedto
merereturnedsignals,itisidealforthedetectionofsoundabsorbentanddeflectingmaterialssuchas
cotton,foam,cloth,andfoamrubber.
Similartothroughbeamphotoelectricsensors,ultrasonicthroughbeamsensorshavetheemitterand
receiverinseparatehousings.Whenanobjectdisruptsthesonicbeam,thereceivertriggersanoutput.
Thesesensorsareidealforapplicationsthatrequirethedetectionofacontinuousobject,suchasawebof
clearplastic.Iftheclearplasticbreaks,theoutputofthesensorwilltriggertheattachedPLCorload.

SourceURL:http://machinedesign.com/sensors/proximitysensorscomparedinductivecapacitive
photoelectricandultrasonic