Linear Position Sensor Terminology

Hysteresis, resolution, repeatability, non-linearity, null-point, temperature coefficient, accuracy.  These are but a handful of the many terms associated with linear position sensors.  To the uninitiated, it can be rather daunting.  And, unfortunately, there is a lot of room for ambiguity and confusion.

For example, let’s take a look at the term “accuracy”, as in “how accurate is this this linear position sensor?”  It seems like a fairly straightforward
question, right?  But in reality, it’s not that simple.   Whenever I get asked that question, my response is “what do you mean by accuracy?”  To which, I usually get a response something like “what do you mean what do I mean by accuracy?”  The fact is that the term “accuracy” means different things to different people.   The person asking the question may want to know the absolute straight-line, absolute positional accuracy (non-linearity) of the sensor.  Or, they may be referring to how accurately the sensor can repeat the same indicated value at the same position over subsequent moves (repeatability).  Or, perhaps what they’re really interested in is the smallest amount of position change that the sensor can detect (resolution).  So, as you can see, it’s not a simple question after all.

Valve Manifolds on Ethernet for Cheap!

Valve manifolds, or islands or banks, are used by many automation engineers in their machine design. They are a great way to easily implement a large number of pneumatic motion applications while keeping the air infrastructure minimal.  Recent demand in the market has driven manifold manufacturers to reluctantly embed network interfaces and remote I/O into their products.   Customers tell me while manufacturer’s expertise may lie with the pneumatic side of the product; there is usually less knowledge with-in their organizations to work on the Ethernet side of the product.

The Packaging “Buzz”

This time of year brings a buzz to the Packaging industry with the unveiling of new equipment and concepts at Pack Expo.  It will be in fabulous Las Vegas, September 26^th through the 28^th.  Balluff will be there, so come check us out if you can.

Also, please take a look at our new video featuring Nova Packaging from Denver,CO.  In a matter of a few years, we have been able to help Nova meet its goal of producing high-performance, quality equipment designed to exceed customers’ expectations for a variety of packaging applications.