Maria Moreno, Product Manager for Honeywell at Aerco, explains the range and breadth of options for electronic sensors available from Honeywell.
If your next design project requires sensors then you could do no better than to reach for the Honeywell catalogue.
Electronic sensors detect and measure a physical phenomenon, such as temperature, pressure, force, or acceleration, and provide a corresponding output, usually in the form of an electronic signal. Products available now cover airflow, current, displacement, force, magnetic, position and proximity, pressure and temperature measurement.
Aerco’s focus markets include the Aerospace, Defence and Rail Transportation industries where components are required to perform in harsh conditions withstanding extremes in temperature and vibration. As an example, consider the life of a sensor on that undercarriagewhich, one minute, is close to the runway of a desert airfield at 50°C, operates through the high-vibration environment of take-off and 2 minutes later is at 30,000 feet and -50°C.
A proximity sensor is a sensor capable of detecting the presence of nearby metal objects without any physical contact. The proximity sensor generally functions by detecting changes in a local electromagnetic field. This field could be emitted by the proximity sensor itself, or by the metal target (magnet) being detected. When a metal object is detected by the sensor, the output of the sensor changes state.
For Proximity and Position sensing your requirement may be to detect the presence of a cog on a gear wheel at sub-millimeter distances or the presence of a landing wheel in the undercarriage of an aircraft. The common theme is that the sensing must be contact-less, accurate and reliable.
Speed sensors from Honeywell use detection of a rotating ferrous target such as a gear, shaftor similar mechanism to enable magnetic detection. Sensing is accomplished without contacting the target, and there are no moving parts. This eliminates mechanical wear of the sensor or target. As with the proximity sensors choices available range from simple units for pcb mounting through units packaged for harsh and corrosive environments. While most of these sensors provide a digital output there are also ranges that output an analogue frequency. These are simple, rugged devices that do not require an external voltage source for operation
Pressure sensors range from board level components through to units designed to operate under very high pressures – in excess of 50,000 psi – and in harsh environments. Pressure in liquids and in gases can be resolved. There are very many different performance requirements in this arena, each of which gives rise to different technical solutions. Closely associated with air pressure sensors are airflow sensors, which can provide measurements of the amount and direction of movement of air and other gases.
Temperature sensors include packaged products designed for long life under conditions of shock, vibration, humidity and corrosion. The ranges of Humidity sensors and Temperature sensors from Honeywell include a product set that combines both to provide accurate and stable readings of Relative Humidity and Temperature in the same package, designed for pcbmounting and with applications ranging from respiratory support machines to industrial-sized HVAC.
A final class in this collection is the Force sensor, used to sense either the direct force being experienced by the sensor or the absence of the force. Through an integrated ASIC the sensors are calibrated and temperature compensated to provide digital output of force readings through tubing, a membrane or a plunger depending on your application needs.
In most design situations your ideal will be to select a sensor which is already packaged for ease of manufacturing and assembly of your solution, and is protected from undesirable shock. There are many choices within the Honeywell sensor ranges of packaging to provide sealed units in metal or plastic housings, with threaded mounting if needed. In many cases the units will be configured with an industry-standard connector to interconnect the sensor with your environment.
To recap, if your design needs to be able to respond to its position and its environment then you will need to use sensors and Honeywell provides an enormous range of competitive, reliable and well-engineered solutions.
Aerco is a franchised distributor of Honeywell sensors and switches with extensive stocks and product experience. and can provide data, guidance or for samples for evaluation.
