Do I need a Reflector for my Photoelectric Sensor

We are often asked whether or not a particular sensor such as the DX80N9Q45LP from Banner Engineering Corporation need a reflector to operate.

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Photoelectric sensors use light to detect the presence or absence of an object within the sensor’s field of view. Whether or not your sensor needs a reflector to operate depends on which type of sensor you are looking at purchasing.

There are three main types of photoelectric sensors:

Through-Beam Sensors: Through-beam sensors use a separate emitter and receiver. The emitter releases a beam of light that travels straight to the receiver, typically creating a normally closed circuit. If the beam of light is blocked by an object the circuit switches to an open circuit. The through-beam sensors can detect objects over long distances but require careful placement and alignment to ensure proper operation. Clear objects may not be detected by this type of sensor.

Retroreflective Sensors: Similar to the through-beam sensors these sensors use an emitter and a receiver to send and detect a beam of light, however both the emitter and receiver are contained within the same unit. For proper detection of objects retroreflective sensors require a reflector be mounted directly across from the sensor. Like through-beam sensors these are typically normally closed circuits and switch to normally open circuits when an object is detected. Retroreflective sensors have a shorter range than through-beam sensors and may not detect shiny objects because they reflect the light back similar to the way the reflector does.

Diffused Sensors: Similar to retroreflective sensors the emitter and receiver in a diffused sensor are housed within the same unit. However, rather than relying on a reflector to bounce the light back to the sensor it instead uses the object itself. Their circuit typically behaves the same as the other two types of sensors. Because it uses the object to return the light, diffused sensors have the shortest range of the three and may not detect objects with less reflective surfaces.

So, back to our question above. We now know that because the DX80N9Q45LP is a retroreflective sensor it does require a reflector for proper operation.

I have access to a Banner engineering photoelectric sensor S18SN6FF100Q.

Originally it was my intent to take the wire from the sensor itself and wire the other end to a usb and plug it into my computer. Im a hobbyist programmer and so im still learning the basics so im not sure how to go about reading it that way so i had the epiphany that I could just use my arduino for the same effect. I just started my degree for computer science and I'm a complete novice with electronics so I'm not sure if my original usb idea would have even been possible. the above link is to banner electronics and that specific sensor and has all the data required hopefully.

my question is how would i wire this sensor to my arduino.

It looks like you require a power supply of 10-30 volts DC at up to 35mA.
So say 12 volts DC.

The 2 outputs of the device you have appears to be NPN transistor (open collector) outputs.
You need a voltage divider for each output to ensure that no more than the maximum voltage appears on the arduino pin (for a Uno, its 5 volts)

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Banner Photoelectric Sensor.

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Each voltage divider would be made of 2 resistors, say 12k and 8.2k (for a 5 volt arduino and 12 volt power supply for the device) :

  +12v ----- 12k resistor ----- device output ---- 8.2 k resistor ---- Ground ( common)

You'd connect the arduino pin to the point marked device output and the ground of the Arduino to the ground of the device.

Also look at an opto-coupler as an alternative (and possibly nicer) way of doing this.

Thank you, and the wiring diagram is EXTREEMLY helpful ,but whether its an appropriate sensor i wouldn't know. these are the sensors that trigger our glue computer that's all i know. since this is what my job uses and stocks its why im wanting to use it.

For my project, the sensor is just to count boxes. i also want to do something like a tachometer to read the speed of the machine. the arduino would have to log both the rate of boxes per hour and the speed of the machine so that the data could later be graphed. right now my plant has a system that simply counts boxes but doesn't keep track of the machine itself which got me thinking and i started throwing around ideas. I know that is redundant and probably stupid but its mainly just a learning opportunity since i havent really done anything interesting with my arduino and im still new to the world of electronics. i also want to do a windows forms app that would receive the data and then graph it and do all the fun stuff. Obviously the Arduino would have to be able to store all of the data until I could get it home and plug it into my computer and upload it to that. but i wanted to start with the sensor and see if it was even possible

OK. The diagram I supplied could even be simplified as @vwmarle pointed out in the case that you are using a sensor dedicated to your application. If, however, you are simply going to 'tap in' to a sensor which is currently also being used for something else, like the gluer machine, you have to be much more careful. My diagram also did not respect anything else using the sensor.

Maybe you'd be better of with a dedicated cheap infrared proximity sensor: example

To get data from the arduino so you can process it later on a PC, maybe look at an SD card module.

6v6gt:
If, however, you are simply going to 'tap in' to a sensor which is currently also being used for something else, like the gluer machine, you have to be much more careful.

I didn't think of that either.

If so, add a diode between the pull-up resistor and the sensor, anode to the arduino (so the arrow away from the Arduino). This way any higher voltage on the sensor pin can not reach the Arduino, but the sensor can still pull low the pin. Maybe best to add an additional resistor between the diode and the Arduino, to limit the current as the diode recovers (the first moment upon change of voltage a diode conducts in reverse).

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(hope the ASCII art is clear enough :-))

For more information, please visit Inductive Sensors Manufacturer.