July 24, 2012 – Honeywell introduces Rotary Configuration SMART position sensor, which provides 360° non-contact angular position sensing. With this product, Honeywell offers a SMART Position Sensor that encompasses the most basic geometric configurations: lines, angles, and circles. The sensor is highly durable, accurate, and cost-effective, enabling design engineers to replace an optical encoder, or to utilize a sensor instead of a resolver which can be expensive and difficult to integrate into a system.
The SMART Position Sensor utilizes non-contact magnetoresistive (MR) technology to determine the object’s position, which allows it to accurately sense position in dirty and harsh environments, replacing optical encoders, which utilize light to determine position, to obtain a highly accurate measurement. Resolvers are typically hand-wired devices with extremely high accuracy and durability for use in incredibly precise, non-serviceable aerospace applications. Honeywell developed the sensor to offer the high level of accuracy needed for specific transportation and industrial applications in which it is designed to operate, measuring values down to 0.01º.
Potential transportation applications include steering angle, articulation angle, and boom arm detection, while industrial customers could use it in solar panels or wind turbines. Honeywell uses a combination of an ASIC and an array of MR sensors to accurately and reliably determine the position of a magnet collar attached to a rotating object to identify and control the object’s position. This technology helps OEMs reduce warranty costs because there are fewer parts to wear out or break down. This also helps end users reduce downtime due to fewer calibration requirements. The SMART Position Sensor’s automotive-grade potting makes it more resistant to vibration, shock, and extreme temperatures, improving reliability and allowing for use in a wide variety of tough applications.
Repeatable output that occurs within a 3,0 mm ±2,0 mm [0.118 in ±0.079 in] air gap between the sensor and magnet collar expand application opportunities. The sensor also provides minimal signal error with up to 2,50 mm [0.10 in] of radial error, simplifying design-in.
