Inductive Sensors and their unlimited use in industrial automation

Inductive sensors (proximity sensors, proxes) are widely used and are the most common sensor in mechanical engineering and industrial automation. When they were invented in the 1960s they marked a milestone in the development of control systems. In a nutshell, they generate an electromagnetic field and therefore react to metal targets that approach the sensor head. They even work in harsh environment and solve versatile applications.

There is hardly any machine that works without inductive sensors. So what can be solved with one, two, three or more of them?

What can you do with one inductive sensor?

Inductive sensors are often use to detect an end position. This could be in a machine an end-of-travel detection, but also in a hydraulic cylinder or a linear direct drive an end-of-stroke sensor. In machine control they detect many positions and trigger other events. Another application is speed monitoring with a tooth wheel.

What can you do with two inductive sensors?

By just adding one more sensor you can get the direction of the rotational motion and replace an encoder. In case you have a start and end position – this can also be solved with a second inductive sensor.?

What can you do with three inductive sensors?

In case of the tooth wheel application the third sensor can provide you a reference signal and the solution turns into a multiturn rotary encoder.

What can I do with four inductive sensors and more?

Of course, for positioning it may make sense to switch to a measurement solution, which can also be inductive. Beyond that, an array of inductive sensors can solve identification applications: In an array of 2 by 2 sensors there are already 16 different unique combination of holes in a hole plate. In an array of 3 by 3 it would be 512 combinations.?