RS and Banner Engineering Deliver Plug-And-Play Industry 4.0 Sensors Engineered for Problem-Solving
June 8, 2026
RS offers Banner Engineering’s extensive portfolio of sensor solutions, including its broad and growing line of advanced non-contact sensors natively optimized for Industry 4.0.
Industry 4.0 technologies, like industrial automation systems and IIoT networks, are proven to enhance personnel and equipment safety, improve process efficiency, consistency, reliability, and profitability improvements, and minimize downtime and maintenance costs. As such, industrial organizations continue to accelerate their deployment of Industry 4.0 technologies and scale existing industrial automation systems and IIoT networks in their discrete and process manufacturing and material handling and packaging applications. This is especially true for those with tighter profit margins — like food and beverage, automotive, EV, and battery manufacturers and logistics companies — and is driving surging growth in the global industrial sensors market, which is projected to more than double in size over the next eight years — rocketing to a value of $69.95 billion by 2034.
Banner Engineering’s range of advanced non-contact sensors natively optimized for Industry 4.0 applications is engineered with these customers in mind. These sensors are:
- Cost effective. They minimize downstream expenses ranging from material waste to unplanned downtime to maximize total cost of ownership (TCO).
- Easy to integrate. They’re compatible with both modern and legacy infrastructure and employ standard hardware connectivity, pushbutton calibration, and plug-and play network adapters to simplify and expedite commissioning and eliminate wiring errors, which is especially beneficial for organizations suffering from the impacts of persistent skilled labor shortages.
- Highly scalable. They allow industrial customers to start small and evaluate ROI before scaling and achieve non-linear revenue growth without a proportional, linear spike in overhead.
They also support IO-Link communication, which eliminates EMI/RFI and the cost of associated solutions, like shielded cable, and enables:
- In-depth, real-time self-diagnostics key to identifying and resolving issues before they result in downtime
- Automated device replacement (ADR) essential for no-skill-required sensor replacement and quickly getting back up and running with the same configuration and parameter settings
- Dynamic remote configuration crucial for seamless, rapid product changeovers
- Predictive maintenance indispensable for optimizing maintenance schedules and reducing unplanned downtime
Each of Banner Engineering’s advanced non-contact sensors optimized for Industry 4.0 applications is also designed to help industrial customers solve common challenges ranging from space constraints, complex wiring, and difficult target detection to skilled labor shortages. For example:
Banner Engineering’s Q20-2 Series compact photoelectric sensors deliver powerful sensing performance in a compact rectangular package that helps avoid major machine redesigns and features standard 3mm mounting holes on 25.4mm spacing to simplify mounting in both new-build and retrofit applications.
- Polarized retroreflective variants accurately and reliably detect targets of any color at distances up to 5m and are ideally suited for detecting dark and shiny objects. They also feature best-in-class optical-to-mechanical alignment for consistent lock-and-load mounting and visible red LEDs to simplify precision alignment and are available with single-turn gain potentiometers and/or light/dark operating switches for on-sensor adjustments
- Infrared laser measurement variants utilize time-of-flight technology to accurately and reliably detect targets up to 3m away. They also feature IO-Link communication, which simplifies wiring, visible red alignment LEDs that further simplify and expedite setup, and PulsePro outputs that enable direct integration with Banner Pro lighting for real-time visual feedback without a PLC.
Banner Engineering’s QS18 Series all-purpose photoelectric sensors deliver maximum mounting and application flexibility in a universal IP67/NEMA 6 housing available with an 18mm threaded lens or side mounts. This diverse, tiered product line offers an industry-leading selection of different sensing technologies (laser, ultrasonic, and fiber optic) and sensing modes (opposed, polarized and non-polarized retroreflective, convergent, regular and wide-angle diffuse, small-spot diffuse, fixed field, and mechanical or electronic adjustable field), as well as AC and DC voltage models. This extreme flexibility allows them to accurately and reliably detect an expansive range of target materials — including clear and dark targets — and makes them ideally suited for replacing hundreds of other sensor styles — and solving myriad challenges — in applications across industries.
They have bright, 360° LED indicators designed to clearly convey operating status at a glance and help prevent costly downtime, and they support maximum detection ranges extending from 15mm to 30m and maximum operating temperatures spanning 50–70°C. QS18 Series sensors are also available in models that support easy, pushbutton TEACH-mode setup, potentiometer setup, and mechanical screw adjustments and offer integrated IO-Link capabilities that simplify complex wiring, installation, preventative maintenance, and sensor backup.
Banner Engineering’s Q4X Series rugged, all-purpose laser distance measurement sensors deliver rugged durability, versatility, superior performance, and exceptional precision in heavy-duty, FDA-grade, IP69K stainless steel housings built to survive overtightening, high impact forces, and extreme machine vibration and equipped with a bright, angled, four-digit distance display that gives real-time feedback and helps dramatically reduce installation costs and troubleshooting time. They’re available in 30 different models with discrete, 0–10V or 4–20mA analog, and IO-Link outputs, maximum sensing distances extending from 25–610mm, clear object and high-resolution capabilities, and a dual-teach mode function that combines light intensity and distance tracking to reliably detect clear objects without a retroreflector and error-proof challenging applications.
They also support easy setup with responsive buttons and use laser triangulation to accurately measure variations in distance and reliably detect even challenging target colors and surfaces — including very dark and uneven colors and highly reflective surfaces — which makes them ideally suited for a wide range of industries and applications.
