UM12-1172211 SICK Ultrasonic Sensor UM121172211 Brand New Sealed

SICK UM12-1172211 | Ultrasonic Distance Sensor — M12 Threaded Barrel, 20–150mm, PNP NO, 10–30V DC, 30Hz, IP65/67

Overview

The SICK UM12-1172211 brings SICK's proven ultrasonic sensing technology into an M12 threaded barrel housing — a form factor long dominated by inductive and capacitive proximity sensors.

At 55.1mm in body length, this is genuinely compact for an ultrasonic unit, and the M12 × 1 thread means it mounts directly into the same 12mm installation holes used for conventional barrel proximity sensors without adapters or custom brackets.

The 20–150mm operating range covers the close-range detection tasks that ultrasonic sensors are increasingly preferred for: level detection in small containers, part presence on narrow conveyor slots, object detection regardless of surface material or colour.

That last point is worth emphasis — where an inductive sensor only responds to metal and a photoelectric sensor can be fooled by transparent or mirror-surface objects, the UM12 reflects sound from virtually anything solid or liquid within its beam, making material independence a genuine application advantage rather than a marketing claim.

At 380 kHz transmission frequency, the UM12 operates at the high end of the industrial ultrasonic sensor frequency range. Higher frequency means a narrower sound beam and finer spatial resolution — the 0.069mm measurement resolution reflects this.

Switching frequency at 30 Hz is appropriate for most part detection and level sensing tasks on production machinery, though applications requiring detection of rapidly passing objects should check this against the expected cycle rate.

SICK's temperature compensation runs internally and continuously, keeping the ±1% accuracy specification valid across the full −25°C to +70°C operating range without requiring field calibration as the environment temperature changes.

This matters on production floors where ambient temperature can swing significantly between night-shift and peak-production conditions.

Key Specifications

Ultrasonic vs. Conventional Proximity — Where the UM12 Fits

Inductive and capacitive sensors have dominated M12 barrel proximity sensing because of their simplicity and low cost. The trade-off is specificity: inductive sensors require metal targets, capacitive sensors are influenced by humidity and nearby materials.

The UM12 adds ultrasonic measurement to the M12 format with none of these restrictions — the sensor measures time-of-flight of the reflected sound wave, which works equally well from glass, rubber, foam, granular materials, or liquid surfaces.

Background suppression is built into the UM12 through the sensor's 150mm switching point setting: objects beyond the set threshold do not trigger the output even if they are within the sound beam's physical reach, allowing the sensor to ignore a conveyor belt or mounting surface that sits behind the target object.

This background suppression is inherent in the distance-based switching logic rather than a separate function to configure.

IP65/67 and Installation Considerations

Dual-rated IP65 and IP67 means the UM12 handles both water jets (IP65) and brief immersion up to 1m depth (IP67).

The nickel-plated brass housing resists the wash-down chemicals common in food processing and pharmaceutical environments, and the PUR foam / glass epoxy transducer face tolerates the humidity and condensation typical of refrigerated production areas. 

The reverse polarity protection and short-circuit overload protection guard the output transistor against wiring errors during installation, avoiding the common failure mode of a misconnected sensor in a panel change scenario.

FAQ

Q1: Can the UM12-1172211 detect transparent objects such as glass bottles or clear film?

Yes. Ultrasonic sensors detect by reflected sound rather than light, so transparency is not a factor.

Glass, clear PET bottles, polythene film, and liquid surfaces all reflect ultrasonic pulses reliably provided the object is within the 20–150mm operating range and presents a surface large enough relative to the beam diameter at that distance. 

This is one of the primary reasons ultrasonic sensors are specified for glass container detection on filling lines where photoelectric sensors produce unreliable results.

Q2: What is the minimum detection distance, and what happens if an object is closer than 20mm?

The 20mm minimum reflects the sensor's blind zone — the distance in front of the transducer face where the transmitted pulse has not yet fully resolved before the sensor starts listening for the echo.

Objects closer than 20mm are not detected reliably; the sensor may not switch at all or may produce erratic output in this zone.

For applications where the target regularly approaches closer than 20mm, a different sensor range or sensing principle should be selected.

Q3: How does the temperature compensation work, and is it active all the time?

The speed of sound in air changes by approximately 0.17% per kelvin of temperature change.

Without compensation, a sensor calibrated at 20°C would produce meaningful range errors at 5°C or 40°C.

The UM12's internal temperature compensation circuit continuously adjusts the time-of-flight calculation based on an internal temperature measurement, keeping the ±1% accuracy valid across the full −25°C to +70°C range. 

This compensation is always active and requires no user configuration.

Q4: What does the 2-LED indicator system show during normal operation?

The two LEDs indicate operating status and output state. Typically one LED confirms power-on and normal operation, while the second LED changes state when the switching output activates — confirming that an object is detected within the set switching distance.

This dual-LED arrangement allows the installer to verify detection without an external test instrument, which is useful during commissioning when the sensor is being positioned to achieve the correct switching point for the application.

Q5: The UM12-1172211 has a 4-pin M12 connector — what is the standard pin assignment?

On a PNP 4-pin M12 sensor, the standard pin assignment follows the industry convention: Pin 1 = +V supply (brown), Pin 3 = 0V/GND (blue), Pin 4 = PNP switching output (black). Pin 2 is not connected on the single-output version.

The 4-pin M12 male connector on the sensor mates with a standard 4-pin M12 female socket cable, which is widely available as a pre-made assembly in various lengths from most industrial automation suppliers.