ipf has launched the PT120320 optical scanner with background suppression in size M12. Background suppression is based on the time-of-flight principle, a time-of-flight method for distance measurement. The distance to the object is determined via the runtime of a light pulse that is emitted by the sensor transmitter, reflected by the object to be detected and then detected by the sensor receiver. The range or switching distance of the sensor of a maximum of 150 mm is largely independent of the reflective properties of the object surface to be detected, which means that even dark objects on very light backgrounds can be easily detected, for example. The optical scanner is set using a teach procedure via a connection on the plug connector, whereby both a switching point and a window function are available. This can also be used to select the normally open or normally closed behavior of the signal output.