Hello,

anyone knows of any distance IC sensor (max size similar to a TQFP48 package), touchless (laser, tof ,reflective,... ), with accuracy of +/- 1 mm. Distance i need to sense is 1 mm to 100 mm.
I checked ton of site but best i found in this size had accuracy of +/- 5mm. Thanks for any help in advance.

Kind regards.

 

https://octopart.com/search?q=distance+sensor&currency=USD&specs=0&sensingdistance=0.001

 

https://octopart.com/search?q=distance+sensor&currency=USD&specs=0&sensingdistance=0.001

thanks, but i forgot to mention, that it needs to be pcb-mountable.

 

The ST VL6180 is a ToF range finger, it's easy to use and Spark Fun has a breakout board for it. The way you use it affects its accuracy, so study the datasheet to see if it can be accurate enough for your needs:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12784

Actually ST has a few sensors, check to see if any of them meet your needs:

https://www.st.com/en/imaging-and-photonics-solutions/proximity-sensors.html

 

The ST VL6180 is a ToF range finger, it's easy to use and Spark Fun has a breakout board for it. The way you use it affects its accuracy, so study the datasheet to see if it can be accurate enough for your needs:

https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12784

Actually ST has a few sensors, check to see if any of them meet your needs:

https://www.st.com/en/imaging-and-photonics-solutions/proximity-sensors.html

2.8V power and logic? First time I've heard of that. Is that common?

Anyway, aside from the power requirements, it looks pretty cool!

P.S. just found a breakout of the same sensor, but with level shifting so it can work with more common 3.3-5V systems.
https://www.adafruit.com/product/33...uc-5nTaYb89XhH19YPy4gpHV32hDChTxoCOq4QAvD_BwE

 

Thank for info, i ordered VL6180X-SATEL board (and also VL53L1X)from ST and will see how much i can get out of the sensor.

 

That doesn't quite meet your +/- 1 mm accuracy requirement:


Nor the 1 mm minimum range:

 

Could anyone comment on this?:

Every time I run across sensors related to "proximity" / "distance measurement" I feel they are mixed or confused.

It is not the same to trigger something when a body is exactly at xx mm from the sensor than to get an indication of how many mm away that body is from the sensor. The second one, to me, is an actual measurement. Right?

 

To oversimplify; I think proximity means the general idea where something is, while measurement is more precise. A proximity sensor may need to know if you are within a few feet of the sensor, in any direction. i.e. you walk into a room and when you're within a few feet of the proximity sensor it turns on the lights, or sounds an alarm. While distance measurement is more precise. i.e. a laser distance measuring tool for measuring the exact dimensions of a room.

 

To oversimplify; I think proximity means the general idea where something is, while measurement is more precise. A proximity sensor may need to know if you are within a few feet of the sensor, in any direction. i.e. you walk into a room and when you're within a few feet of the proximity sensor it turns on the lights, or sounds an alarm. While distance measurement is more precise. i.e. a laser distance measuring tool for measuring the exact dimensions of a room.

I disagree. I think it's more about the nature of the output. A proximity sensor will provide a simple Boolean logic output, where a distance measurement should be outputting an analog voltage or current proportional to distance, or a digital message indicating the measured distance.

Although common practice may also indicate differences in accuracy for the two classes, I don't think it's intrinsic to their nature. You can get proximity switches that are fairly accurate and repeatable, and you can find distance sensors with huge tolerances.

 

I used quite a bit of stuff made by Micro-Epsilon as far as LASER distance sensors. Depending on your location you may want to give them a call and speak to one of their applications engineers. You don't mention industrial or laboratory application. A good sensor is not something you will find on ebay if you have tight specifications, they come with a price tag. The ones I used I used to measure a "bounce" and they afforded a 0 - 5 VDC output over a 0 to full scale distance. This was scaled to engineering units using a 16 bit A/D converter. Anyway, I suggest you determine a budget and talk to an applications engineer. You give a range of 1mm to 100mm and want a 1% uncertainty. Now if you want the uncertainty expressed as % rdg that means an uncertainty at 1 mm of .01mm or if you want %FS (Full Scale then that is an allowable error at 1 mm of 1mm.

Ron

 

I disagree. I think it's more about the nature of the output. A proximity sensor will provide a simple Boolean logic output, where a distance measurement should be outputting an analog voltage or current proportional to distance, or a digital message indicating the measured distance.

Well, this is in line with what I understood when I was explained how Wild optical instruments worked.

And personally I am not clear on what the OP actually needs. He says "sense". ¿?

 

Since 1mm accuracy seems not really possible in real world application, i will use the ones fro mST and see what is best i can do with them. There really isnt any other option

 

I disagree. I think it's more about the nature of the output. A proximity sensor will provide a simple Boolean logic output, where a distance measurement should be outputting an analog voltage or current proportional to distance, or a digital message indicating the measured distance.

Although common practice may also indicate differences in accuracy for the two classes, I don't think it's intrinsic to their nature. You can get proximity switches that are fairly accurate and repeatable, and you can find distance sensors with huge tolerances.

I guess that's another way to look at it, and I agree there are some measurement devices with pretty horrendous specifications. Maybe the line is not black and white; way back in the early 1990's there were some car alarms that had 2 stage proximity sensors. The goal was when someone gets close to the car the alarm chirps or plays an audio clip. But if someone reaches in an open window or into an open convertible the alarm will go off. They used proximity sensors of some sort, and had adjustments for the inner and outer dome diameter, for lack of a better way to describe it. I don't think they worked all that well, but I guess these could fall under either the umbrella of proximity sensors, or really crude omnidirectional measurement devices.