Everything You Need To Know To Find The Best Omron Laser Sensor

09, Jun. 2025

 

The complete guide to proximity and photoelectric sensors | Omron

Our all-encompassing solutions for industry are designed to make your machines smarter, faster, more flexible and more reliable.

Ctech Trade are exported all over the world and different industries with quality first. Our belief is to provide our customers with more and better high value-added products. Let's create a better future together.

View Solutions

Integrated robotic solution speeds pepper bagging

Omron and a partner have created a ground-breaking single-package solution for the greenhouse industry.

All Success Stories

Raising the bar on flexible packaging

Here's how to make the most of a strategy that supports efficiency, variety and sustainability.

All White Papers

We leverage our global network and passion for creativity to tackle complex problems in industries like automotive, electronics, packaging, life sciences and more.

View Industries

Auto and EV Manufacturing

Omron’s breadth of technology, experience, support and resources give customers high-value help in finding solutions for EV and automotive applications.

Proof of Concept Centers

In-person help to solve key industry challenges. We are standing by to help you with your next automation project.

Our complete portfolio of safety services, training and automation services will help you keep your people safe, protect your capital investments and increase your overall equipment effectiveness.

View Services

Very sensitive distance sensor for a project - Arduino Forum

Hello guys,

For a professional project, I have to find a distance sensor which can measure distances from 50 mm to 250 mm minimum with a resolution below 1mm like 0.5mm.
I've been looking everywhere and the resolution is never below 1mm for low quality sensors that are often used in arduino projects.
The only ones I found are from OMRON like E3Z LS83-2M which seems to have a great resolution but I can't find a value. The thing is that even if it is called distance sensor, I have doubts for it to just be a proximity sensor.

So do you guys have a reference of a sensor below 200$ that can do it or can you validate my choice of the OMRON sensor pls?

Thank you in advance,
Romain

Try one, and average some number of readings to see if that improves precision. Let us know what you find.

Are you interested in learning more about Omron Laser Sensor? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

A very rough rule of thumb with sensors is that for each guaranteed factor of 10 improvement in precision, the price goes up by a factor of more than 10.

so 25 centimeter.
interesting.
Does this look good? It's only the sensor and you will have to put together the circuitry to make it wireless (why would you do that)
https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/427/vcnlx01-.pdf
and evidently this part is available on mouser. $4 apiace.
Alternatively (I think they are not called proximity sesor?) i found this ultrasonic time-of-flight ranging device. Which is also avaiable on Mouser, but have no details on performance.
https://www.mouser.com/catalog/specsheets/TDK__DS--CH201-v1.1.pdf

After some tinkering, this fellow found that "Using phase, the HC-SR04 can reliably resolve distance changes less than 1 mm." (You won't get that with an out-of-the-box HC-SR04: you have to modify it like he did.)

https://www.davidpilling.com/wiki/index.php/HCSR04

Even if his findings are true, I'm NOT saying that incredibly cheap sensor is for you. And there are many selection criteria you haven't mentioned.

But I'd be surprised if you can't find a commercial/industrial sensor that can do what you need. For example, these guys have ultrasonic sensors that appear to be in your ballpark, cost-wise and "accuracy"-wise:

BTW, I have found that calling vendors on the and TALKING to a Real Live Person is often the best way to find what I'm looking for. Even if they don't have what I need, they may know a company that does, or can suggest an alternative approach. (And calls usually work much better for this than .)

The key here is that distance changes are being measured, not absolute distance.

As the article points out, measurements of phase changes are limited to one wavelength (8 mm at 40 kHz) total, or about 4 mm of there and back travel. To get absolute distances to that accuracy, you have to accurately count the number of carrier crests to the reflecting object, plus the fraction, which seems difficult to impossible with the HC-SR04. Nice work, though!

You would think that a time-of-flight optical rangefinger thing would exist (ultrasonic is not the most accurate and have a spread), and it should not be terribly expensive, especially if he is willing to put a small reflective surface on the other end.
It's like an industrialized, short-ranged and accurized version of the hand-held measurement thingy that contractors use to take measurements of your house.
For $30 you can measure up to 20 meters with accuracy of within 2mm, along with a screen, battery, software and everything.

I'm amazed you have had so many useful suggestions on such little information. You havent told us ANYTHING about what you are trying to measure the distance TO.
Is it a flat surface? Is it reflective? Is it conductive? Hard or soft? Solid or liquid? Is it moving? What are its dimensions - is it like a wall, a wire, or a bullet?

Want more information on ABB Surge Protector? Feel free to contact us.