Sensors

A sensor is an element in a mechatronic or measurement system that detects the magnitude of a

physical parameter and changes it into a signal that can be processed by the system.

Often the active element of a sensor is referred to as a transducer. Monitoring and control
systems require sensors to measure physical quantities such as position, distance, force, strain,
temperature, vibration, and acceleration.

Displacement &Positions Sensors

As most applications involve measuring and controlling shaft rotation (e.g., in robot joints,
numerically controlled lathe and mill axes, motors, and generators), rotary position sensors are
more common than linear sensors. Linear motion can often be easily converted to rotary motion
(e.g., with a belt, gear, or wheel mechanism), allowing the use of rotary position sensors in linear
motion applications.

Speed measurements can be obtained by taking consecutive position measurements at known

time intervals and computing the time rate of change of the position values. A tachometer is an
example of a speed sensor that does this for a rotating shaft.

Proximity sensors and limit switches that are a subset of position sensors that detect whether or
not something is close or has reached a limit of travel.

Potentiometer, which is an inexpensive analog device for measuring rotary or linear position.

Linear variable differential transformer, which is an analog device capable of accurately

measuring linear displacement.

Digital encoder, which is useful for measuring a position with an output in digital form suitable
for direct interface to a computer or other digital system.

A proximity sensor consists of an element that changes its state or an analog signal when it is
close to, but often not actually touching, an object. Magnetic, electrical capacitance, inductance,
and eddy current methods are particularly suited to the design of a proximity sensor. As figure
shows, A photoemitter-detector pair represents another approach, where interruption or reflection
of a beam of light is used to detect an object in a noncontact manner. The emitter can be a laser
or focused LED, and the detector is usually a phototransistor or photodiode.
 Proximity Sensors having emitter and detector in separate and single housing

There are many designs for limit switches, including pushbutton and levered micro switches. All
switches are used to open or close connections within circuits.
switches are characterized by the number of poles (P) and throws (T) and whether connections
are normally open (NO)or normally closed (NC).A poleis a moving element in the switch that
makes or breaks connections, and a throw is a contact point for a pole. The SPST switch is a
single-pole (SP), single-throw (ST) device that opens or closes a single connection. The SPDT
switch changes the pole between two different throw positions.