Sensing Ferrous and Non-Ferrous Metals: Enhancing Material Differentiation

Understanding the reduction factor for each metal allows you to answer the question of what happens when you need to differentiate between two metallic parts. If one metal is ferrous and the other is non-ferrous, then you can place the sensor at a distance that will detect the ferrous metal but not the non-ferrous metal. However, this may not be an efficient solution if the metals have similar reduction factors, or if you need to detect the non-ferrous metal over the ferrous metal.

Using ferrous-only or non-ferrous-only sensors

The better solution is to use a ferrous-only or non-ferrous-only sensor. These sensors are specifically designed to detect only one type of metal and ignore the other type, resulting in a reduction factor of zero. Ferrous-only sensors detect only ferrous metals, and their reduction factors range from 0.1 to 1 for steel and stainless steel, while the reduction factors for non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, copper, and brass are zero. Non-ferrous-only sensors detect only non-ferrous metals, and their reduction factors range from 0.9 to 1.1 for aluminum, copper, and brass, while the reduction factors for ferrous metals are zero. Using ferrous-only or non-ferrous-only sensors eliminates the need to adjust the mounting distance of a standard inductive sensor to detect a ferrous metal over a non-ferrous metal.

Overall, selecting the right sensor for your application depends on the type of metals you need to differentiate and detect. If you are dealing with ferrous and non-ferrous metals, you can use a standard inductive sensor, but you need to be aware of the reduction factor for each metal type and adjust the mounting distance accordingly. If you need to detect only one type of metal, however, a ferrous-only or a non-ferrous-only sensor is the better option. These sensors are specially designed to ignore the other metal type, eliminating the need to adjust the mounting distance.

By understanding the differences between ferrous and non-ferrous metals and the capabilities of different sensors, you can optimize the metal detection system for maximum efficiency and accuracy.