Our team (1388) needs a way of counting basketballs into and out of our feeder system similar to how beam detectors work, such as the devices that make sounds when you walk into or out of a building.
After some brief searching over Andymark and the general internet, we’ve been unable to find anything that would be usable in this purpose. With that in mind, the idea of using Allen Bradley 42ef-d1mnak-a2 light sensors came into play. Could we use these to count basketballs as they entered our robot, or is that too far outside of their intended design? If it is, what sensors would be recommended for this purpose?
Sometimes, you can use a “beam sensor” with a reflector. Try to mount a beam sensor, and place a reflector on the otherside for it too look at. Generally this will create an ON SIGNAL. When your ball passes through the beam sensor, it will turn off. You might have to adjust your gain to a lower setting.
Of course the right sensor to use would be a through beam sensor. Like this for example:
yes, you can use those sensors and a retroreflector… if you play with the tuning knob you can use them as a beam break… maybe not what they were designed for, but heck, retroreflectors are easy to find and if you have a few left over from last year, you are some wire spices away from a prototype.