Facing the Inevitable: Sensor Obsolescence, Mitigation Strategies, and Alternatives

Obsolescence. If its only difficulty was remembering how it is spelled it wouldn’t be so bad. And whether you’re trying to replace a sensor that has failed with age or are a manufacturer who can no longer source an important sensor, obsolescence of an inexpensive sensor can create extremely expensive headache. At Everight Position we help customers to understand the causes of sensor obsolescence, explore mitigation strategies and find alternative solutions.

MEMS Inclinometer Specifications

Inclinometers, also called tilt sensors, clinometers, or slope sensors, are designed to measure the angle of an object with respect to the force of gravity. These tilt or level meters determine the pitch and/or roll angle and output these values via the appropriate electrical interface.

Torque Measurement with Angle Sensors

As collaborative robots expand into manufacturing environments the issue of safe motion continues to be a concern. Current design approaches involve adding force sensors, torque sensors, and sometimes proximity sensors. These adders along with more complex software control algorithms mitigate most of the concerns and result in slower operation. Unfortunately, these additional sensors also add significant cost and complexity.

TECHNOLOGY LINEAR SENSORS

Many applications require linear motion to be monitored for system control or to ensure safety. With lengths ranging from 1 m to 30m (3’ to 98’), LINARIX linear sensors are available in many configurations to meet an application’s requirements. Options include a wide variety of outputs (including analog, fieldbus and Ethernet variants), heavy duty housings and compact design.