Laser Sensors
Laser Sensors have been developed over a number of years and there are lots of different applications. Among the types of sensor available are speed and length, color, temperature and optical. There are also laser profiles as well as displacement and position sensors and each type has a different task and can be non-contact and contact variants.Types of Laser Sensors
• Color Sensors
This type of sensor has been developed to measure the color of an object and they manage to do this by looking at RGB-I, L*a*b and DIN 99 values. Lots of industries require the use of color sensors to manage processes or to verify information.• Speed and Length Sensors
Speed and length sensors use LED technology to increase the life of the sensor and they can be used to regulate complex production systems that are used within industry such as stretch formers, rolling mills and coating systems. Among the features of speed and length sensors are real time signalling and the facility for the measuring range to be parametrized.• Temperature Sensors
There are a few types of sensors on the market to monitor temperature including thermal imaging, infrared temperature, fibre optic pyrometer and handheld infrared camera sensors. Thermal imaging sensors can be used to measure at high speed and accuracy. Infrared temperature sensors can be used where the application is one to suit a durable, long life and reliable application.Fiber optic pyrometer sensors can be used for the measurements on hot metals whereas handheld infrared camera sensors can be used for thermal imaging and miniature pyrometers. Handheld infrared sensors are ideally suited for fast and mobile temperature measurement.
• Displacement and Position Sensors
These sensors have been developed to utilize both a non-contact and contact measurement method. They are used to measure displacements, distances and positions, and the contact sensors can be produced at a lower cost than non-contact while also being automated to enable high volume monitoring. Non-contact types are sometimes considered to be better as they do not touch the object that is to be measured and therefore they leave no mark or scratch.You can also use laser distance sensors as a non-contact type of measuring sensor. These are a good alternative to contact ones as they can measure from a large range, sometimes up to 250 metres. Another alternative is the draw-wire displacement sensors and these can be used to measure 50-50,000 mm. These are used for simple distance measurement.
Adam MacDonaldAbout the Guest Author:
Article written by Adam MacDonald representing www.micro-epsilon.co.uk who have an extremely extensive range of laser sensors, non-contact measurement systems and all other types of sensor technology.