Optical Sensor for Shock Travel Measurement?

[DavidNJ]

TTBOMK it standard to use a rigid linear position sensor:

However, there are a variety of optical sensor available also. The KA Laser Ride Height sensor is pretty expensive, but others are very inexpensive if a bit non-linear. This would include several sharp models such as this one:

http://www.sharpsma.com/webfm_send/1203

Has anyone tried them? Would they work in this application?

 

[MikeHalloran]

The Sharp sensor seems damn slow, even by mechanical standards, and is affected in unspecified ways by dirt.

I suppose it could be useful for generating static load/deflection curves, but it's a lot of complexity to replace a ruler and a clipboard.

How many do you need?
How long must they last?
How fast a movement do you wish to measure?


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA