Electrical Magnetic Sensor Design Considerations & Applications

What should you look for when considering electrical magnetic sensor designs?

At Sensor Solutions, we provide several reasons to select us for your next project. We offer several electrical magnetic sensor design considerations and applications. Check out our considerations below to learn more today!

Electrical Magnetic Sensor Design Considerations

At Sensor Solutions, we've compiled a list of considerations below to help you with your process. Contact us today to request a quote!

• Power Supply:
  • What power supply voltages are available for the sensor?
  • Is the power supply stable?
  • Are there solenoids, actuators, relays, or other components in the electrical system that can cause voltage surges, current spikes, or EMI in the electrical system
• Sensor Output Type:
  • What inputs are available in the control and monitoring system (NPN, PNP, TTL, Relay...)?
  • Are there minimum or maximum output voltages for the high and low output states?
  • Are there concerns of EMI between the sensor output and the control system?
  • Is there potential for voltage or current to flow backward into the sensor through the output?
  • Does the output have power rating requirements for switching relays, powering LEDs, or driving other electronics within the electrical system?
• Custom Electrical Functions:
  • Does the application require one digital switching output, multiple digitals outputs, a proportional analog output, or a combination of digital analog outputs?
  • Are there target behaviors the sensor should ignore?
  • Are there requirements for specific duty cycles or phase angle between outputs?
  • Are there requirements for sensor output state at power up?
• Examples of magnetic sensor applications with custom electrical requirements:
  • An OEM automotive equipment manufacturer uses a CPU that requires the speed pulse output states to be above 0.5V in the low state and below 4.5V in the high state to differentiate the pulse trains from electrical system failures where the output is pulled to ground or Vcc.
  • An application specific custom vehicle needs to provide power to a PTO only when the drive shaft is spinning in a specific direction and above a defined minimum speed. The sensor provides a relay output is only closed when both speed and direction requirements are being met.
  • In the original design a manufacturer of aftermarket performance equipment was adding flyback diodes into the wiring harness behind a speed sensor. The Sensor Solutions redesign moved the protection inside the sensor itself for a more durable and lower cost solution.
  • A position sensor detects when a feature on a moving target passes the sensor face, but the control system requires a pulse length that is of a minimum length that is longer than a pulse provided by a Hall Switch or Gear Tooth Sensor measures. The custom sensor provides a "one-shot" pulse of a defined length regardless of how fast the target passes the sensor face.