What is the difference between inductive proximity sensor PNP and NPN outputs?
Answered by: Shane Jaconelli, RS components
Both PNP (also known as sourcing) and NPN (also known as sinking) sensors require a positive and negative power supply. However, the output for the ‘on’ state from the PNP sensor will be a positive, and the output from the NPN sensor will be a negative. PNP devices are more common in Europe, and NPN sensors are more common in North America and Japan, so it’s worth checking which type you need before buying.
