At Sensors Expo 2017, Pete Smith, Sensors Knowledge Manager at TE Connectivity, explains how sensors have evolved over the last few years to address different application requirements from TE Connectivity’s perspective. Pete’s story starts with the M7100, a standard industrial pressure sensor for TE Connectivity that addresses fuel rail pressure measurements in fuel injected vehicles. It threads into a mating socket and has a connector that accepts a mating electrical socket on the opposite end. Suitable for liquid or gas measurements, this type of sensor has been used for over 20 years and is still widely used today.
With requests from many customers, TE Connectivity designed the M5600 for Internet of Things (IoT) applications. An evolution of the M7100, the new IoT-ready pressure sensor, has the same threaded fittings in its stainless steel portion but adds a radio and a power supply in a polycarbonate housing. The Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled sensor does not have a connector or wires but wirelessly transmits its data to a control unit or base station that is monitoring pressure and other measurements.
When customers wanted to know what the pressure reading was at the sensor, TE Connectivity added a digital display to their standard threaded sensor and wires to connect to a power source and created the M5800. The display rotates as much as 310 degrees.
As TE Connectivity evolves its sensor portfolio to address different specialized requirements for different customers and markets, a single product that combines both wireless transmitting capabilities and the direct readout appears to be a distinct possibility.
Filed Under: Sensors (pressure), Sensor Tips
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