Sensors
  Photoelectric Sensor Technology
    Light Source
      LED
      Incandescent
        Specular Reflective
    Beam Operation
      Through Beam
        Wave Guide
          Rigid Wave Guides
      Retro Reflective
        Fan Beam Scanner
      Proximity
        Convergent
  Conductive
  RF (electromagnetic)
  Impact
  Surge

Controllers
  Switching Controllers
    Output
      Electromechanical Relay
      Solid-State AC Switch
      Transistor Logic
        Open Collector
        Current Sink Or Source
    Control Function
      On Off
        Automatic On Off
      Latch
      Counter
        Batch Counter
        Toggle Batch Counter
      Shift Register
        Delay Line
        Externally Clocked Shift
      Time Delay
        Signal Loss Hold
        Energize Hold
          One Shot
          Delayed One Shot
          Repeat Cycle Timer
      Over Or Under Speed
  Analog

Configuration
  Self Contained
    Modular
  Wiring
    Two Wire Ac
      Compact Series Two Wire Ac
    Five Wire Relay
      Five Wire Ac Relay
      Five Wire Dc Relay
    Eight Wire Relay
    Three Wire Transistor Logic
  Remotely Operated
    Enclosure
      NEMA-1
      NEMA-12
  Potted
    Full Potted
    Potted Cable

Proximity

Proximity controls sense the presence of objects by bouncing light off of the object and detecting the diffuse reflected light.

They can also be used for color detection and material-distinction if there is enough contrast.

Optical proximity sensors use a wide beam source and a selector mounted in the same unit. This works best for large or nearby objects. No alignment of multiple units is necessary, as for through-beam, but it may be desirable to adjust the target so that it has a surface that is more perpendicular than a nearby background surface.

Optical proximity (aka. diffuse reflection) is best suited to situations where the object or material to be detected is brighter (more reflective) or much closer than background objects. Such sensors are necessary when both sides of an object cannot be accessed in order to place a through-beam source/sensor or retro-reflective unit/reflector. For example, individual items in a row on a conveyor belt cannot be optically distinguished except from above.

Alternatives

• Retro Reflective
• Through Beam
• Conductive
• RF (electromagnetic)

Products

Other Technology

Considerations