A retro-reflective sensor houses the emitter and receiver in one body and bounces its beam off a prismatic reflector mounted opposite. You wire one side only — a significant saving when the far side of a conveyor has no cable route or no space for a second unit.
One-sided installation
The reflector is entirely passive: no power, no signal cable, no alignment electronics. It can be bolted to a guard rail or a bracket across the conveyor and forgotten. That makes retro-reflective the pragmatic middle ground between through-beam reliability and diffuse simplicity.
It suits non-reflective targets particularly well. Cartons, boxes, pallets and opaque bags block the beam cleanly, giving a decisive switching edge.
Key features
- Single-sided wiring — only one unit needs power and signal cable.
- Passive reflector mounts anywhere opposite with no electrical connection.
- Good range — considerably longer than diffuse sensing.
- Reliable on opaque targets such as cartons, boxes and pallets.
- Simpler alignment than through-beam, thanks to the reflector's wide acceptance angle.
- LED status indication for setup and diagnostics.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Sensing method | Retro-reflective, with prismatic reflector |
| Detection | Opaque, non-reflective objects |
| Operating voltage | 10–30 V DC |
| Output | PNP or NPN, NO or NC |
| Frequency | 50 Hz |
| Reflector | Prismatic reflector supplied or ordered separately |
| Status indication | LED |
| Housing | Corrosion-resistant industrial housing |
| Cable | 2 m standard |
Typical applications
- Conveyor monitoring — detecting boxes, cartons and pallets.
- Packaging lines — verifying product presence before sealing.
- Material handling — counting and sorting non-reflective items.
- Machine guarding indication where a through-beam pair is impractical.
How to order
Tell us the sensing gap, the target material, your supply voltage and the output type your controller needs. If you are replacing an existing sensor, a photograph of the body markings is usually enough for us to identify an equivalent. We will confirm the specification and quote — normally the same day.
Related products
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the product itself is shiny?
A highly reflective target can bounce enough light back to mimic the reflector, so the sensor never registers a break. For shiny or wrapped products, ask for a polarised retro-reflective version, which only accepts light returned from the prismatic reflector and ignores direct reflections.
How far can the reflector be from the sensor?
Considerably further than a diffuse sensor reaches, though less than a through-beam pair. Tell us your conveyor width and we will confirm the working range for the model we would supply.
Need a quote for the Retro-Reflective Photoelectric Sensor?
Send us your application — target material, sensing distance, supply voltage and housing constraint. We will recommend a part, quote it, and ship from Mumbai.