If a set of rail points fail to engage correctly the outcome can be disasterous. This sensor was developed to accurately monitor the position of a shift rail on a set of points.

Monitoring ±60mm of movement, the sensor is accurate to 0.1mm giving rail engineers reliable information regarding the successful switching of the points. The installation of this sensor removes the need for potentially unreliable manual points checks. With the sensor providing feedback of critical safety information in real time, if a set of points fail to fully engage action can be taken immediately to prevent an accident.

The technology used by this sensor has excellent EMC immunity, making it favourable over hall effect sensors for applications such as this. The non-contact nature of the sensor eliminates the limitations of dither life (seen in standard linear potentiometers) and with environmental protection to IP67 this sensor can be relied upon to perform whatever the conditions - crucial in a safety critical applications such as this.

Please click below to view the 3D Flash animation illustrating the principles of operation of this sensor.