Magnetic Pickup Sensor Coils

When a magnetic pickup sensor coil goes into an aircraft engine or any critical industrial process, its documentation matters as much as its construction. Our MPU coil assemblies are manufactured and tested under a system certified to AS9100D and ISO 9001, the benchmarks for aerospace-grade quality management.

Our certifications extend beyond quality management to cover safety, hazardous-area suitability, and global market access. For customers operating in explosive or hazardous environments, our products hold ATEX and IECEx certifications. We are also ITAR registered, making us a qualified supplier for defense and military programs. CSA certification covers North American market requirements; our CCC mark covers the Chinese market.

All design, tooling, and manufacturing happen in-house at our Anaheim, California, facility, where we maintain direct control over every stage of production and inspection. We also work alongside certified third-party test labs to validate performance before a coil ever reaches your system.

Can a magnetic pickup sensor coil detect speed at very low RPM?

Magnetic pickup sensor coils are self-generating; they produce an output voltage only when a ferrous target is in motion. At very low rotational speeds, the rate of magnetic flux change drops, and so does signal amplitude. This means a standard MPU coil assembly has a practical minimum speed threshold below which the output signal may be too weak for downstream electronics to process reliably. For low-speed applications, we can optimize coil design variables, including the number of winding turns, pole-piece geometry, and magnet strength, to improve low-speed sensitivity. If your application requires detection at or near zero speed, a Hall Effect sensor is typically the more appropriate technology. Our engineering team can assess your speed range and recommend the right sensing approach.

What type of output signal does a magnetic pickup sensor coil produce?

MPU coil assemblies produce an analog AC voltage output, a sinusoidal waveform whose frequency is directly proportional to the rotational speed of the target. Each gear tooth or target feature that passes the sensor pole piece generates one complete oscillation. Signal amplitude varies with rotational speed and air gap distance, and the raw output typically requires signal conditioning before it reaches a microcontroller, PLC, or electronic governor. Our engineering team accounts for your downstream electronics in its custom coil design process, including matching coil impedance to maximize output voltage and minimize capacitance for your specific system.

Can a custom magnetic pickup sensor coil drive more than one output device simultaneously?

Yes. A dual-output coil configuration uses two separate coil windings wound around the same assembly to generate two independent, isolated signals from a single ferrous target. Each output carries the same signal power as a conventional single-coil sensor, making this configuration practical for applications where one speed signal must feed multiple devices simultaneously, such as an electronic governor and a safety shutdown system, or a tachometer and an anti-skid controller. The dual-output design occupies no additional physical space or mounting hardware compared to a standard magnetic pickup sensor coil assembly. Contact our engineering team to discuss whether this configuration fits your system requirements.