Product Highlights > Banner Engineering - Sensor Selection Guide: Photoelectric, Laser, Ultrasonic, Fiber Optic, Radar & 3D ToF Sensors

Banner Engineering Sensor Solutions

Banner Engineering offers new and innovative technology in photoelectrics, laser distance measurement, ultrasonics, fiber optics, radar, arrays, and 3D time of flight to solve almost any industrial automation application.

Photoelectric Sensor Solutions

When the light beam emitted by a photoelectric sensor is interrupted or reflected by the object, the change in light patterns is measured by a receiver and the target object or surface is recognized. Photoelectric sensors are very common in industrial manufacturing fields such as material handling, packaging, food and beverage, medical, and many others.

Depending on the style selected, they can be used with or without a reflector, be self-contained, long-range, heavy-duty, or compact. There are many different housing and mounting options to offer a correct fit that meets the demands of each application. They perform a wide variety of tasks and some of them can even be used in harsh environments.

Laser Distance Measurement Sensor Solutions

Laser measurement sensors are ideal for use in a wide variety of detection and measurement applications. These sensors can provide more information than photoelectrics by being able to not only detect the presence of a target, but also tell you how far away it is. The small, visible spot size makes alignment easy, and the powerful sensing beam can detect dark and challenging targets. There are short range, high precision models for accurate measurement and long-range models for reliable diffuse sensing.

Radar Sensor Solutions

Radar Sensors emit microwaves to detect objects, unaffected by rain, snow, dust, steam, and other environmental conditions. This makes radar ideal for many outdoor and low-visibility indoor applications, like tank level measurement of dry goods or vehicle detection. A radar sensor’s beam is an important consideration in solving the challenges of specific applications. Narrow beam sensors (15 degrees or less) are great for measuring liquid levels, while wide beam patterns provide coverage of larger areas and more reliable detection of irregularly shaped surfaces or targets presented at steep angles. Additional advantages include long sensing ranges and a wide operating temperature range, providing a great deal of application flexibility.

3D Time of Flight Sensor Solutions

3D time of flight technology emits a signal across a wide area that reflects off objects, then analyses this information to visually represent distances in the sensor’s region of interest. This yields more information than a single sensor. It can detect and measure multiple targets within its three-dimensional field of view, making it ideal for measuring non-uniform targets over a broad areas such as bin fill levels or part detection.

Ultrasonic Sensor Solutions

Ultrasonic sensors emit a beam of high-frequency sound waves, allowing them to detect targets regardless of color, transparency, or surface finish. Ideal targets are large, flat, hard, and reflect sound efficiently. By measuring the time it takes the echo emitted soundwaves to reflect back to the sensor’s built in receiver, an ultrasonic sensor can both detect the presence of a target and measure its position. Ultrasonic sensors excel at accurately measuring challenging targets, including transparent ones at close ranges.

Fiber Optic Sensor Solutions

Fiber optics use an amplifier and fiber optic cables. The amplifier contains all of the electronics and the fiber cables act as light pipes to send the light wherever is needed. Because the fiber optic cables can be bent and routed, they can be used in space-constrained areas, harsh environments, and any other application with remote sensing requirements. The variety of sensing heads on the fiber optic cables adds to the number of problems that can be solved.

Measuring Array Solutions

Arrays can fall into two categories: measuring arrays and detection arrays. Measuring arrays consist of many opposed pairs of photoelectric sensors in a long housing. A measurement can be found by accounting for the number of beams being blocked. Useful in product dimensioning, hole sizing, or edge tracking applications. Detection arrays cover a wider area that may not be presented at a consistent location. These are commonly used in material handling applications for leading edge detection.