Low-cost position sensor for washing machines
Our client asked:
Our client was developing an active control system for a washing machine to reduce vibration. This required a low-cost position sensor to monitor the displacement of the drum.
The project story:
- Sagentia Innovation considered a range of sensor technologies in terms of performance, cost, and robustness
- Our Sensopad™ technology turned out to be well-suited to this application. This uses inductive sensors fabricated on small PCBs and an ASIC that had been developed for automotive applications, which makes it low-cost
- It provides a resolution of around 0.1% and a linearity of around 0.3%. It only requires a passive element to be attached to the drum, which makes for simple installation and is robust to temperature, moisture, dirt and vibration
Client benefit:
- We delivered a prototype sensor which enabled our client to prototype their control system quickly. Our client then worked with TT Electronics, who licensed the Sensopad™ technology and produced the ASIC, to take the concept towards production.
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