Rotary sensor avoids wear and tear

A noncontacting angular position sensor from BEI Duncan Electronics in Tustin, Calif., combines transceiver technology with digital-signal processing to detect the angular position or movement of a shaft. The sensor uses only one moving part and is fully noncontacting, thus minimizing wear. The device calculates angular positions over a full 360 range with 1% linearity. Gear reductions and multiplication options allow for multiple-turn applications. Output can be in a variety of digital and analog formats and the design, which uses no magnets, tolerates shaft misalignment and endplay. The relatively simple electronics can be easily converted to an ASIC. The thin, lightweight device consumes little power and fits in tight places. Originally designed to measure steering angles, the sensor can be reconfigured to measure linear distance instead of rotary displacement.