Ultrasonic Sensors

Ultra-Flat Sensors for Front Mount — UF200 and UF300

• UF200 — an ultra-flat 15 mm housing sensor with a very short 10 mm blind range, suited to installations where the sensor must sit close to the target.
• UF300 — same ultra-flat housing, extended out to a 3000 mm detection range with a 50 mm blind range, giving significantly more reach for the same mounting footprint.
• Both are available with an industrial M12 connector and are built for front-mount installation where panel space is tight.

Miniature Sensors — U300 and UR12

• Two of the smallest ultrasonic sensors in the range, with the compact cubic U300 measuring just 12.9 × 23 × 32.2 mm.
• Best-in-class blind range of 15 mm paired with sensing distance up to 1000 mm.
• UR12 offers the same NexSonic performance in an extremely short cylindrical housing, 50 mm, for installations that need a round form factor.

Robust Sensors — U500 and UR18

• Built with a PEEK-coated sensor element for significantly increased resistance to chemical exposure and mechanical wear.
• Short 20 mm blind range with sensing distance up to 2000 mm.
• Positioned as the toughest units in the NexSonic lineup, for environments where sensor longevity under harsh conditions matters as much as detection performance.

Beyond the Core Range

Baumer's broader ultrasonic toolbox extends further, with variants including:

• Long-range sensors detecting up to 6000 mm.
• The world's smallest ultrasonic sensor at just 10 × 14 × 27 mm.
• Sonic-nozzle sensors for specific mounting geometries.
• High-speed sensors optimized for fast-moving targets.
• Chemically resistant variants for aggressive process environments.

What NexSonic Technology Actually Does

Fast Response for Moving Targets

Response time as fast as 10 ms lets these sensors keep up with fast-moving objects — detecting ruptures in transparent film at full belt speed, for example, where a slower sensor would miss the event entirely or blur the detection point.

Shortest Blind Range in Class

Every NexSonic series is built around the best available ratio of blind range to detection range — as little as 10 mm of blind range paired with up to 3000 mm of detection range on the same sensor family, meaning the sensor can be mounted close to the process without losing reach.

Smart Filtering for Measurement Stability

Configurable via IO-Link, the filter settings let a single sensor be tuned to very different jobs:

• Interruption filter — ignores a known interfering object, like a rotating mixer arm inside a tank, so it doesn't generate false detections.
• Strong filtering — smooths out signal noise for demanding tasks like bulk material level detection or where maximum precision matters more than speed.
• No filtering — leaves the raw response time intact for detecting genuinely fast-moving objects where any filtering delay would blur the result.

Variable Sonic Cone

The sensor's detection cone can be set to narrow, medium, or wide via IO-Link — narrow to sense through a small opening without picking up surrounding structure, or wide to cover a broader area when precise targeting isn't the priority.

Reliable on Genuinely Difficult Targets

Because detection relies on sound reflection rather than light, NexSonic sensors deliver consistent, repeatable results on targets that are notoriously inconsistent for optical sensors — transparent foils, ultra-black structured surfaces such as tires, and objects in dusty, dirty, or moist environments where optical lenses would need constant cleaning.

The Engineering Behind NexSonic

Baumer's ultrasonic sensors use a purpose-built sensor element paired with a custom-developed ASIC, Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, with the piezo element connected directly to the matching layer/membrane rather than through a longer signal path. That direct connection delivers several practical benefits:

• Shorter signal paths improve electromagnetic compatibility.
• Evaluation electronics sit closer to the sensor element itself, enabling faster and more reliable signal processing.
• Signal quality is more stable and less prone to noise.
• Additional filter functions become possible for suppressing interference sources like agitators or other moving equipment near the sensor.

Distance-related gain control keeps signal quality consistent across the entire detection range while simultaneously helping minimize blind range — the combination that gives NexSonic sensors their class-leading detection-to-blind-range ratio.

Applications

• Cold storage and logistics – detecting truck presence at unloading docks to control cold-bridge closure, and detecting pallets regardless of load shape or size, using non-contact sensing that stays reliable in cold, dusty, or humid conditions.
• Confined installation spaces – compact housings with short blind range suit electronics-industry machines and devices where the sensor has to sit very close to the target.
• Difficult surfaces and materials – glass edges, reflective objects, multi-colored parts, and PCBs that challenge optical detection methods.
• High-speed production lines – detecting film ruptures at full belt speed, counting objects ahead of packaging, and detecting bottles for downstream filling, all using the fast, unfiltered response mode.