I'm new at Marshall Wolf Automation. It is time to begin my education. Let the games begin!

The first lesson in 'My Automation Education' is on proximity sensors. Fans of war films and smartphones may know proximity sensors and not realize it. The same type of device that allows your smartphone to recognize your face and "close" your touch screen so you do not press unnecessary buttons while making a call also give anti-aircraft gunners a fighting chance.

But lets talk about a few more every day uses that may be interesting to you. Proximity sensors, in one way or another, can be used by the food industry (even those that manufacture food equipment supplies), roller coasters, as a sensor for paper breaks in the paper making process, car washing systems, even all types of conveyor systems.

What does a proximity sensor do? According to my good buddy Wikipedia, proximity sensors are used to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. There are many types: capacitive proximity sensors, laser distance measurement sensors, photoelectric proximity sensors - even miniature photoelectric sensors, and retroreflective photoelectric sensors.

We can spend future blogs diving deeper into the specifics of each sensor type. For inductive or ultrasonic sensors try the Baumer electric sensors line. If you are looking for those or maybe a capacitive sensor head towards the Carlo Gavazzi sensors. Marshall Wolf Automation also offers Autonics sensors, and is one of North America's Pepperl & Fuchs distributors for all your sensor needs.

Anti-aircraft and iPhones, dairies and daredevils, self-parks and car washes...they all use proximity sensors; you should too!

Marshall Wolf Automation, industrial automation distributor, encourages you to give us a try for all your future automation needs.

Step one on the path to Knowledgetown...enjoy the journey to 'My Automation Education'!