Electrical Safety

Failure to follow the guidelines described in this section may result in electrical shock or equipment damage.

Sensors should be connected to earth ground

All sensors should be connected to earth ground through their housing. All sensors should be mounted on an earth grounded frame using electrically conductive hardware to ensure the housing of the sensor is connected to earth ground. Use a multi-meter to check the continuity between the sensor connector and earth ground to ensure a proper connection.

Minimize voltage potential between system ground and sensor ground

Care should be taken to minimize the voltage potential between system ground (ground reference for I/O signals) and sensor ground. This voltage potential can be determined by measuring the voltage between Analog_out- and system ground. The maximum permissible voltage potential is 12 V but should be kept below 10 V to avoid damage to the serial and encoder connections.

For a description of the connector pins, see Gocator I/O Connector.

Use a suitable power supply

The power supply used with sensors should be an isolated supply with inrush current protection or be able to handle a high capacitive load. Verify the voltage input requirements for your sensor in the sensor's specifications; for specifications, see Sensors.

Use care when handling powered devices

Wires connecting to the sensor should not be handled while the sensor is powered. Doing so may cause electrical shock to the user or damage to the equipment.