How to Select

Your Measurement Equipment

Displacement Meters and Measurement Systems

Selection Catalogue

1. Types of Measurement Equipment

2. Measurement Principles
3. Type of Measurement
4. Information Required for Selection
5. Determining the Measurement Method
6. Example of Selecting a Displacement Meter or Measurement System

1. Types of Measurement Equipment

The typical types of displacement meters are the 7 types listed below.
The list also summarises the characteristics of each of the types.

Item

Laser
Displacement
Meter

2D Laser
Displacement
Meter

Optical
Micrometer

Instant
Measurement
System

Eddy Current
Displacement
Meter

Ultrasonic
Displacement
Meter

Contact-type
Displacement
Meter

Any object

Any object

Any object

Any object

Metals

Any object

Solids

Measurement
Spot

Small
(MIN. 2 m )

Small

Small

Small

Standard
(Twice the OD of head)

Large
(MIN. 15 m )

Small

Surface
restrictions

Almost none

Almost none

Almost none

Almost none

None

None

Soft surfaces

Measurement Range

0.2 to 3500 mm

0 to 290 mm

0 to 10 mm

24 to 920 mm

0.8 to 30 mm

Repeatability

MIN. 0.005 m

MIN. 0.2 m

MIN. 0.03 m

MIN. 0.1 m

MIN. 0.3 m

MIN. 0.1 mm

MIN. 0.1 m

Response Frequency

Approx.
MAX. 392 kHz

Approx.
MAX. 64 kHz

Approx.
MAX. 16 kHz

Approx.
MAX. 18 kHz

Approx.
MAX. 7 kHz

Approx.
MAX. 40 kHz

- Can measure
any object

- Can measure
any object

- Can measure
any object

- Small
measurement
spot

- Can measure
uneven
surfaces
and shape

- High stability

Material

Detection
Object

10 m to 120 mm 0.02 to 200 mm

Environmental
Resistance
(Water, Oil, Dust, etc.)

Advantages

- High precision
- High-speed
response
frequency

Characteristics

- Low
environmental
resistance

- High precision

- High stability

- Low
environmental
resistance

- Limited to
projected
objects

Disadvantages

- Easy operation - Superior

environmental
- Can measure
resistance
complex
dimensions
- High precision
- Can measure
multiple spots

- High-speed
response
frequency

- Limited to
projected
objects

- Measures only
metals

- Limited work
size

- Small
Measurement
range

- Can measure
any object

- High precision

- Large
Measurement
range

- Large
measurement
spot

- Cannot
measure soft
objects

- Low accuracy

- Low response
frequency

- Low response
frequency

Laser displacement sensors are displacement sensors that are of superior quality in terms of the objects that can be measured, measurement accuracy,
response frequency, and many other aspects.
Good, Better, Best

2. Measurement Principles
The measurement principles of typical displacement meters and measurement systems are introduced below.

Laser Displacement Meter

2D Laser Displacement Meter

Cylindrical lens
Semiconductor lasers

2D Ernostar lens

HSE3 -CMOS

Utilises 2D laser triangulation to obtain a profile of a part for complex

measurements such as angles and radii with a single sensor.

Optical Micrometer
High-intensity
Green-LED

Telecentric optics
Target

Collimator lens/
Special diffuser unit

The measurement principle of triangulation occurs when the position

of the target object changes, the beam spot on the receiving element

CMOS monitor
camera

changes position. This position change is used to measure distance.

HL-CCD

Optical micrometers use a collimated beam of light to pass from a

light source to a receiving element. By analysing the shadow cast by
the test part, measurement is possible.

Eddy Current Displacement Meter

This system uses a high-frequency magnetic field. High-frequency

High-frequency magnetic field

Detection target object

current is passed through the coil inside the sensor head to produce

Coil

the high-frequency magnetic field. When the measurement target

(metal) comes into the magnetic field, magnetic flux passes the

High-frequency
oscillator circuit

target's surface and eddy current flows in the vertical direction due to
electromagnetic induction action, causing a change in the impedance

Eddy current

of the sensor coil. The eddy current displacement sensor measures

distance based on the changes in oscillation caused by this
phenomenon.

Ultrasonic Displacement Meter

Ultrasonic displacement sensor emits ultrasonic from the sensor

If the detected distance is expressed as L, the time

from the emission of ultrasonic to the receipt as T,
and the speed of sound as C, the detected
distance L can be calculated by the formula:
L = 1/2 x T x C. (T is 'to-and-fro' time; thus it is
multiplied by 1/2.)

Transmitted wave
Received wave

[Calculation
Formula]

L =

head and receives the ultrasonic reflected off the target object. The
distance is measured by detecting and calculating the time from the
emission of this ultrasonic to the receipt of the ultrasonic.

1
TC
2

Contact-type Displacement Meter

Circuit
Primary
winding

Primary winding
Secondary winding
Moving core
Secondary
winding
Core

Secondary
winding
Core

Primary
winding

Secondary
winding

Detection
amplification

Structure
Secondary winding

Differential transformer is comprised of 3 coils and a moving core.

When the primary winding is excited by an AC source (constant
Voltage
output

frequency voltage), the moving core moving along with the

measurement target causes induced voltage in the secondary
winding. This is differential coupled to obtain the voltage difference,

Secondary
winding

hence the displacement output.

Core
Primary
winding

Primary
winding

3. Type of Measurement
There are a variety of measurements, including thickness measurement and vibration measurement.
Categorising broadly, measurements can be grouped into the following 14 types.

Stroke
Distance

Positioning/
Position
measurement

Height/Level
difference

Depth

Outer
diameter

Wave/Curve
Flatness

Gap

Angle/Tilt

Thickness

Runout/
Vibration/
Eccentricity

Width

Shape

3D
measurement

Image
measurement

3D

4. Information Required for Selection

There are primarily 5 key points in selecting a measurement system.
The optimal selection can be made by gathering information based on the understanding of each point.

Measurement target
object

Check the material, size, and shape.

Selection is significantly affected by whether the target object is soft (in which case
contact-type cannot be used) or has a complex shape (in which case laser
measurement systems are suitable).

Measurement
accuracy

Measurement accuracy concerns the sensors ability to provide readings that are
accurate to within desired tolerances.
A general rule-of-thumb is to get a sensor that is 10x as accurate as the desired
tolerance.

Measurement range

Measurement range depends on the type of measurement.

For 1D type sensors, the measurement range defines the maximum par t deviations
and par t travel that the sensor can see.
2D type sensors would also include a field-of-view such as the width of a par t.

Measurement speed

Check the interval with which to perform measurement.

To determine this, identify the travel speed of the target object and the number of
desired measurements on the target.

Ambient environment

Check the environment, including ambient temperature, oil, water, and dust.
Also, check the space where the measurement system is to be installed.

5. Determining the Measurement Method

From the above information, you can narrow your options to the optimal measurement method based on overall consideration.
The chart below compares the measurement methods by key point.
Item

Laser
Displacement
Meter

Optical
Micrometer

Instant
Measurement
System

Eddy Current
Displacement
Meter

Ultrasonic
Displacement
Meter

Contact-type
Displacement
Meter

Applicability to
measurement object

Measurement accuracy

Measurement range

Measurement speed

Ambient environment

Overall

We see that each sensor type has its own strengths and weaknesses depending on targets types and environmental and
running conditions. Laser sensors are generally seen to be the most versatile and should be taken in high consideration
when sensor flexibility may be necessary.
Good, Better, Best

[Typical Examples]
Measurement of the thickness of electrodes

Measurement of disk rotor runout

Measurement of 3D shape of forgings

Measurement and discrimination of pin height

Measurement of the dimension of stamped parts

Measurement of OD of super-fine wires

6. Example of Selecting a Displacement Meter or Measurement System

Check the key points and narrow down the options to those that satisfy the required specifications.
Here, we are using an example of a laser displacement meter specification to find if it meets the given measurement requirement.

Measurement Requirement
Measurement target: Solar cell substrate
Application: Thickness measurement
Measurement accuracy: Tolerance decision with 10 m read accuracy
Measurement range: Thickness standard t = 0.7 mm
(Measurement distance should be as far apart as possible)
Measurement speed: Line speed is 1 m/s. Measurement should be
performed in a 0.1-mm intervals.
Ambient environment: Clean environment with air-conditioning system

Specifications

Voltage

Measurement
accuracy

There are 2 items that represent accuracy: repeatability and linearity.

Repeatability indicates the variation when performing the same measurement repetitively.
Linearity expresses the error from the ideal value.
< Linearity Graph >
For both, the smaller the value,
Voltage
the greater the accuracy. For example,
Linearity
Measured
the accuracy values for LK-H008 would be:
Repeatability: 0.005 m
Linearity: 0.5 m

value

(0.05% of F.S. = 0.05% * 1 mm)

If the required accuracy is 10 m,

LK-H008 fulfils the measurement accuracy,
which is 10 m x 1/10 = 1 m.

Measurement
range

Ideal line
Distance

There are 2 items that represent measurement range: reference distance and
measurement range.
Measurement range indicates the range width that can be measured.
Reference distance is the distance from the frontal face of the measurement part to
the central position of the measurement range.
Reference distance: 8 mm
Measurement range: 0.5 mm
In conclusion, the measurement range in this case is 7.5 to 8.5 mm, on the basis of
the whole face of the sensor head.
Measurement interval is calculated based on the sampling cycle and line speed.

Measurement
speed

Sampling cycle: 392 kHz

Measurement interval: Approx. pitch of 2.5 m
((1000 mm/s) / 392 kHz = 2.5 m)
The minimum requirement of 0.1-mm pitch can be met with this specification.
Assuming a clean environment with a 5 degrees Centigrade fluctuation of
air-conditioning, the temperature drift is calculated below.

Ambient
environment

Temperature characteristics: 0.2 m/C (0.02% of F.S./C = 0.02% * 1 mm/C)

Temperature drift: 1 m (0.2 m/C * 5C = 1 m)
1 m is on the margin of the required accuracy, which indicates that temperature control
may be necessary.

 Specifications of Laser Displacement Meter (LK-H008)

LK-H008

Model
Installation mode

Specular

Reference distance

8 mm
*1

Measurement range

0.5 mm
Red semiconductor laser

Light source

Wavelength

650 nm

Laser class
(JIS C 6802)

Class 1

Output

0.3 mW

Spot diameter
(based on reference distance)

20 m (LK-H008)
20 m x 550 m (LK-H008W)

Linearity*2

0.05% of F.S. (F.S. = 1.0 mm)

Repeatability*3

0.005 m (0.001 m)

Sampling cycle

2.55/5/10/20/50/100/200/500/1000 s (variable with 9 levels)

Temperature characteristics

0.02% of F.S./C (F.S. = 1.0 mm)

Enclosure rating
Ambient operating illuminance
Environmental
resistance

IP67
Incandescent lamp or fluorescent lamp: 10000 lux max.

Ambient temperature*4

0 to +50C

Operating Ambient humidity

35 to 80% RH (No condensation)

10 to 55 Hz 1.5 mm double amplitude in X, Y,
and Z directions, 2 hours respectively

Vibration resistance
Material

Die-cast aluminium

Weight (including cord)

Approx. 240 g

*1 Measurement range is for when the sampling cycle is 20 s is greater.

*2 Value is based on measurement of KEYENCE standard targets (mirrored metal workpiece) in standard mode.
*3 Value is based on measurement of KEYENCE standard targets (mirrored metal workpiece), with an average
repeat of 16384 times with reference distance.
Value in parentheses is based on a typical example measuring an average of 65536 times with a sampling
cycle of 200 s.
*4 If the ambient temperature is 40C or higher, the meter must be installed on a metal plate.

Ultra High-Speed/High-Accuracy
Laser Displacement Sensor

LK-G5000 Series

Sensor head for transparent/

mirror surface

LK-H008

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