Do you want to undertand them or just see what is available?
The basic rules to understanding them are take a comercial/home product and just make it more robust. Most industrial sensors use the same gear as hobbiests they are just better protected (both electronically and physically) and the indivual compoents have higher specifications (temperature, voltage tolerance, etc). Mil spec chips are often used - but they are just 'boofier' version of what you buy over the counter at you local 'tronics store
As far as what's available - get onto some of the suppliers websites (allen bradley springs instanatly to mind) find the nearest distributor and ask for a catalog to be sent to you - heck even the RS catalogue has a plethora of industrail sensors in it.
The reality is that all the manufacturers try to sway you toward being loyal to their particular brand of voodo. So they are unwilling to make generic one on one comparisons with their competitors. And of course, they always claim they are the 'state of the art' and charge a hefty premium for being so.
Some sensors, like thermistors are good cheap solutions to 99% of your thermal measurements. But you can find a vast array of 'high tech' temperature sensors that merely add cost. It is hard to sort out what is both good and cheap in an effective engineering context.
In many case it is not the electronics you are paying for, but the 'form factor' or an appropriate sealed housing for a hostile environment
Jimbo30
Posts: 129
Comments
The most concise information will come from the manufacturers. Have a look at Automation Direct who freely provide data on their devices.
Are there particular sensors you're interested in? The usual industrial ones are proximity, limit switches, photo-cells, encoders.
Cheers,
The basic rules to understanding them are take a comercial/home product and just make it more robust. Most industrial sensors use the same gear as hobbiests they are just better protected (both electronically and physically) and the indivual compoents have higher specifications (temperature, voltage tolerance, etc). Mil spec chips are often used - but they are just 'boofier' version of what you buy over the counter at you local 'tronics store
As far as what's available - get onto some of the suppliers websites (allen bradley springs instanatly to mind) find the nearest distributor and ask for a catalog to be sent to you - heck even the RS catalogue has a plethora of industrail sensors in it.
HTH
The reality is that all the manufacturers try to sway you toward being loyal to their particular brand of voodo. So they are unwilling to make generic one on one comparisons with their competitors. And of course, they always claim they are the 'state of the art' and charge a hefty premium for being so.
Some sensors, like thermistors are good cheap solutions to 99% of your thermal measurements. But you can find a vast array of 'high tech' temperature sensors that merely add cost. It is hard to sort out what is both good and cheap in an effective engineering context.
In many case it is not the electronics you are paying for, but the 'form factor' or an appropriate sealed housing for a hostile environment