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This section provides an overview for measurement & inspection sensors as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 21 measurement & inspection sensor manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked measurement & inspection sensor companies as of January, 2025: 1.Curtiss-Wright Corporation, 2.Vitrek Corp., 3.Red Lion.
Table of Contents
Industrial sensors are used to measure the outer diameter of steel materials and the thickness of sheet film. Because they can scan continuously at minute intervals of 0.1 second or less, they are suitable for use in manufacturing plants where the object to be measured is long and continuous and is continuously measured without being cut off in the middle.
Also, the industrial sensor can be used orthogonally to measure dimensions in the XY direction, or two or more industrial sensors can be used to measure one end face of an object that has a large cross-sectional shape.
The principle of an industrial sensor measures the length of an object by irradiating a laser beam onto the object to be measured and using the sensor to detect the width at the point where the laser beam is blocked. It is important that the laser beam is emitted parallel to the measurement axis.
The part where the laser beam is blocked is considered an edge, and the sensor detects the width at both of these edges to enable dimensional measurement. Therefore, the configuration must be divided into a light-emitting part that emits the laser, a light-receiving part that reads the emitted laser, and a display part that displays the measured values.
The laser can be a strip or a rectangle with a width of 1.5 mm or more. The light-receiving part that reads the laser needs to continuously read the laser and the part that does not receive the laser in one section, so CCD line sensors are used in most industrial sensors.
The scanning interval for reading edges and measuring dimensions depends on the processing speed of the display unit. However, a typical product can scan at 0.1-second intervals, enabling accurate measurement even if the object to be measured swings slightly.
Industrial sensors are generally available in two types of light receiving parts: CCD type and light intensity change type. The configurations for each type are quite different.
CCD Method
The CCD method uses a CCD imaging sensor to detect parallel bands of light projected onto the photodetector; the CCD is placed in a band on the photodetector side to receive parallel light, and only where an object blocks the light, a shadow is reflected on the CCD, making it possible to measure the length of the object from that portion.
Light Intensity Change Method
In this method, a lens is placed on the receiver side, and the light focused by the lens is detected by a light-receiving element such as a photodiode. Since the amount of light concentrated on an object decreases as the object blocks the light, the length of the object is detected based on the ratio of the amount of light concentrated on the object.
While industrial sensors have the advantage of non-contact measurement, they are subject to external disturbances. In particular, in places where vibration occurs, such as production sites, it can cause errors beyond the original measurement accuracy of the device.
In the case of CCD photodetectors, some models have a shading correction function that enables calibration correction of the linearity of the internal photodetector. In such cases, it is important to perform the calibration correction before the actual measurement.
*Including some distributors, etc.
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Banner Engineering Corporation, established in 1966 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a manufacturer and supplier of industrial automation products. They offer an extensive range of sensors, including proximity sensors, photoelectric sensors, and limit switches, for detecting object presence, position, and speed. Additionally, Banner provides a different types of switches, such as pushbuttons, toggle switches, and rotary switches, to control electricity flow and offer system feedback. Their wide array of controls includes PLCs, HMIs, and motion controllers, enabling automation of industrial processes.
Sick AG, founded in 1946 and headquartered in Waldkirch, Germany, is a manufacturer of sensor and sensor solutions that aid in in production, logistics, and processes automation. The company’s expansive product portfolio includes industrial sensors, encoders, and analyzers. It has over 50 subsidiaries and equity investments as well as several agencies worldwide, and in the 2022 fiscal year, it generated around €2.2 billion. The company established the first subsidiary in France in 1972 and opened another subsidiary in USA in 1975. It changed to a joint stock company in 1996 and the first employee shares were issued in 1999.
Curtiss-Wright Industrial, one division of Curtiss-Wright, originally founded in 1929 with its headquarters in the USA, is an integrated manufacturer of precision-engineered products and systems. The company, which includes the legacy brands of Arens Controls, Penny & Giles, PG Drives Technology, and Williams Controls, primarily serves the aerospace, defense, and naval markets worldwide. Products include power electronics, motor controllers, joystick controls, and industrial sensors. With manufacturing facilities in the USA, the United Kingdom, China, and India, Curtiss-Wright Industrial also provides support services for critical applications and system overhauls.
ifm efector (ifm) is a subsidiary of ifm electronic, founded in Germany in 1969. ifm has developed, manufactured and marketed sensors and controls technology to industries that include assembly and robotics, automotive, material handling, metal forming, mobile equipment, plastics, and food and beverage. Ifm produces sensors, condition monitoring equipment, image processing, safety technology, industrial communication, IO-link, systems for mobile machines, displays, software, connection technology, voltage supplies, as well as other accessories.
Red Lion was founded in 1972 and headquartered in York, Pennsylvania as part of Spectris, PLC, headquartered in Egham, England. The company serves manufacturing, oil & gas, alternative energy, transportation, and water industries with products for their industrial automation and industrial networking needs. The company’s industrial automation division creates controllers, secure remote access platforms, panel meters, and process control devices. The industrial networking division offers ethernet devices, IIoT gateways and routers, and communication converters.
Pepperl+Fuchs, Inc. was founded in Mannheim, Germany in 1945 developing the forerunner of the proximity switch. Pepperl+Fuchs continues to develop proximity sensors as well as other industrial sensors including ultrasonic sensors, rotary encoders, positioning systems, display and signal processing, vibration monitoring, industrial communication, and signal processing as well as related accessories and software. Explosive protection products include safety barriers, surge protection, wireless solutions, HMI systems, power supplies, electrical explosion protection equipment, level measurement, and related software.
Vitrek Corp, established in 1990 and based in Poway, California, USA, is a manufacturer and supplier of high voltage test and measurement equipment. The company's product range includes Non-Contact Measurement devices, MTI Instruments Accumeasure Capacitance Products, Portable Hand-Held Signal Simulators/Calibrators, and Semiconductor/Solar Metrology Systems. These products are designed for various testing and measurement tasks. They mainly serve the electronic, appliance, medical, aerospace, and semiconductor industries. The company's services include safety and electrical test equipment provisioning, solar and metrology system offerings, vibration/engine balancing system solutions, and high-speed data acquisition.
Gefran is an Italian manufacturer of industrial process automation systems that was founded in Provaglio d'Iseo, Brescia in 1960. The company produces regulatory drives and inverters, various sensors, and automation components such as programmers and controllers. It also offers tailor made systems for specific industrial processes, including thermoforming, injection molding, and extrusion. Gefran products are primarily used in factory automation, as well as by clients in the metalworking, plastics, material handling, and food processing sectors.
Burster Präzisionsmesstechnik GmbH & Co KG is a manufacturer of sensors & precision measurement products established in 1961 and based in Gernsbach, Germany. The company produces a wide range of sensors, calibration equipment, and testing devices. Its products include force and displacement monitoring systems, universal calibrators for in-field QA operations, and potentiometric angle of rotation sensors. The company also offers contract manufacturing, OEM, and product modification services. It chiefly serves clients in the automation, chemical processing, and industrial facility engineering sectors.
Mitutoyo was founded in 1934 and headquartered in Kawasaki City, Japan. The company is a manufacturer and seller of precision measuring instruments including software, optics, machinery, and electronics. The company is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited for calibration services for measuring instruments. The company’s product lines include Micrometers, Calipers, Calibration Equipment, Vision Measuring Systems, and many others. The company’s coordinate measuring machines and roundness/cylindricity measuring machines are sol in over 60 countries worldwide.
Datalogic was founded in 1972 along the outskirts of Bologna, Italy. The company is a manufacturer of scanning and optical devices for industries such as retail, manufacturing, transportation & logistics, and healthcare. The company’s product lines include fixed and handheld scanners for retail and industrial purposes, vehicle-mounted computers and handheld computers, laser marking systems, and other industrial scanners and data-sensing machines. The company offers aftercare services including ease of care service.
RIEGL Laser Measurement Systems, headquartered in Horn, Austria, is a manufacturer and provider of laser scanning solutions for applications in surveying. They produce LiDAR systems commercially and focus on pulsed time-of-flight laser radar technology in multiple wavelengths. RIEGL’s products include airborne laser scanners, UAV-based laser scanners, terrestrial laser scanners, mobile laser scanners, and industrial laser scanners. These laser scanners provide detailed and accurate 3D data for applications such as topography, mining, as-built surveying, architecture, and more. They also offer software packages that are designed to optimize the acquisition workflow in the field and provide tools for data control and processing.
Pulsotronic GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Niederdorf, Germany, is a manufacturer and supplier of sensors and sensor systems for the automotive, industrial, and medical sectors. Their ISO 9001:2015 certified products include distance sensors for measuring object distance in parking assist systems and robotics, speed sensors for applications like engine control and cruise control systems, pressure sensors for tire pressure monitoring and medical devices, temperature sensors for thermostats and climate control, and Hall sensors for proximity switches and automotive ignition systems.
ASTECH Angewandte Sensortechnik GmbH, a company founded in 1990, and based in Rostock, Germany, is a manufacturer of non-contact measurement and automation equipment. The company’s products include the standard VLM, LDM, CROMLAVIEW series, and OEM products manufactured according to customer requirements. More items from the company include microcontroller, FPGAs, and CCD sensors. The company earned its ISO 9001 certification in 2015 and is a member of IHK zu Rostock and BG ETEM.
Kempf GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 1988 is a measuring and control systems provider and manufacturer that is headquartered in Walldorf, Germany. One of their products is the LMC-J-0040-X, an optoelectronic laser distance-measuring device. Kempf GmbH & Co. KG offers laser distance measuring systems and solutions for defined positioning, distance determination, dimensioning, and level monitoring under complex technical requirements and harsh environmental conditions. They offer laser technology for detecting length, with laser-based industrial measuring systems used for controlling production processes.
MultiDimension Technology (MDT) is a manufacturer of magnetic sensors founded in 2010 and headquartered in Zhangjiagang Free Trade Zone, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China. The company produces a series of Sensor ICs and Sensor modules such as Anisotropic MagnetoResistance (AMR), Giant MagnetoResistance (GMR), and Tunneling MagnetoResistance (TMR) that are used in the technical field of magnetoresistive transducers for measuring magnetic field and other parameters. They also offer magnetic device wafer fabrication along with designing and testing features enabling MDT to provide solutions for a wide range of applications in the magnetic sensor market.
Omron Corporation, started in 1933 and headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, is a manufacturer of automation components, equipment, and systems, and it developed the first contactless proximity switch in 1960. It has four domains, including industrial automation, electronic components, healthcare, and social systems, and it provides products and services in around 120 countries and regions. Some of its products include microsensing devices, access control systems, industrial robots, surveillance cameras, and blood pressure monitors. In 1971, it developed the first online cash machine, and in 1972, it established Japan’s first welfare factory.
Applied Measurements, a company established in 1991 and based in Aldermaston, West Berkshire, United Kingdom, is a manufacturer and supplier of measuring systems, transducers, and sensors. The product portfolio has pressure sensors, depth sensors, position sensors, LVDTs, and load cells used in industries involved in the production and supply chains making precise measurements and calculations. The ISO 9001-certified company offers various services including calibration, designing, repair, bonding, and custom control of specific products with a 3-annuals warranty.
Baumer Electric AG was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in the city of Frauenfeld, Switzerland. The ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified company provides sensor solutions for digitalization, packaging, railway, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. A sample of the company’s sensor product listings includes object detection, distance measurement, force sensors, accessories, and connectivity devices. The company offers product support for setup and installation, product functionality, and optimized product usage.
OMRON Industrial Automation is the UK branch of OMRON, originally founded in Japan in 1933. OMRON Industrial Automation serves food and beverage industry, panel board design, automotive manufacturing industries among others. OMRON Industrial Automation products categories include automation systems such as industrial PCs and human machine interfaces (HMI), safety such as safety switches and safety logic control systems, switching components such as solid state relays, motion & drives such as motion controllers, sensing such as photoelectric sensors, software, robotics, quality control & inspection systems, as well as control components including power supplies and digital panel indicators.
Ranking as of January 2025
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Curtiss-Wright Corporation |
9.0%
|
| 2 | Red Lion |
7.6%
|
| 3 | Vitrek Corp. |
6.9%
|
| 4 | Gefran SpA |
6.3%
|
| 5 | Datalogic S.p.A. |
6.3%
|
| 6 | MEGATRON Elektronik GmbH & Co. KG |
6.3%
|
| 7 | Angewandte Sensortechnik GmbH |
5.6%
|
| 8 | SICK AG |
5.6%
|
| 9 | Pulsotronic GmbH & Co. KG |
4.9%
|
| 10 | burster präzisionsmesstechnik gmbh & co kg |
4.9%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the measurement & inspection sensor page as of January 2025. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
Company with a History
*Including some distributors, etc.
*Including some distributors, etc.
| Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
|
United States of America
|
7 | 41.2% |
|
Germany
|
5 | 29.4% |
|
Italy
|
2 | 11.8% |
|
Japan
|
1 | 5.9% |
|
Austria
|
1 | 5.9% |
|
China
|
1 | 5.9% |
57 products found
57 products
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High performance distance sensor.
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