# Orientation of wire in linear position wire sensors

Talking about a wire potentiometer, I was wondering about the way it could be used after installation. as you know, wire sensors have a roll of wire inside them that come out of a hole, and it sounds like that the wire should always remain direct and in the same orientation as it comes out.

you can see that the wire is always held along one axis , let's say X axis to verify the length of the wire:

if my interest is the length change ( not the absolute current value) of the wire, and the wire does move not only in X direction, but let's say also in Y (and or) Z direction , while my interest is in $$\delta L$$ of the wire, not only in one certain axis, how much error would we introduce to the measurement ? is there a way to approximate that ?

• Could you please clarify if you are interested only in the X-component of the length change ($\delta L_X$), or are you interested in the total length change ($\delta L$)? – NMech Sep 30 '20 at 8:22
• I edited the question : my interest is in deltaL of the wire, not only in one certain axis – FabioSpaghetti Sep 30 '20 at 8:24
• Then - as far as I can see- I think your error in measuring $\delta L$ should be zero. I mean apart from friction, that might hinder the movement a bit, I don't think that you should get any error. – NMech Sep 30 '20 at 8:27

As far as I can see- I think your error in measuring $$\delta L$$ should be zero.