Wiring 24v NPN Proximity Switch to 5v BOB - Why does'nt it work

[m_c]

People seem to be over complicating this.
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Given the BOB in question requires switched to 0V to activate the input, all you need to do is wire 24V to BN, 0V to BU, then connect the BK to the BOB input. You may need to also connect the BOB 0V to the sensor, however I'd assume this BOB doesn't have fully isolated inputs, and the 24V and 5V supplies already have their 0V connected at some point.
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An NPN sensor simply switches the output wire to 0V, and should go essentially open circuit when unactivated. You should not need any kind of pull up resistor on the sensor output.
However as has been mentioned already, the sensor may not switch perfectly to 0V, and may struggle to reliably switch the BOB input. In that case, adding a small relay into the circuit would be needed.
Alternatively, there's these simple sensors called switches... ;-)