My analog sensor outputs .5 to 4.5VDC. How do you convert to analog 0-10VDC?

My analog sensor outputs .5 to 4.5VDC. How do you convert to  analog 0-10VDC?

Well Stan look at this as a mathematical problem.  Your sensor outputs 0.5 to 4.5 volts, that is a 4 volt range.You want a ten volt range, so you will need to amplify the signal 2.5 times.This on its own will give you a range from 1.25 to  11.25 volts.So you then need to subtract 1.25 volts from the signal, or 0.5 volts at the input, to get the range from 0 to 10 volts. You can do both these functions with an op-amp, which can act as both an amplifier and a summer.  Organise an amplifier with a gain of 2.5, put the signal into the + input, and put a voltage of +0.5 into the - input (you can do this with a trim pot to enable to to get the zero accurate).  As both these voltages are positive, you can use a single supply amplifier as long as the common mode range goes down to near zero volts.   I am at work now and can't post a diagram, but if you know much about op-amps it shouldn't be difficult to do this, but let me know and I'll try to assist further if you need. BTW this type of stuff is called Signal Conditioning, for obvious reasons! Best of luck / David

StanDavid's remarks, as always, are spot on. I might add though that depending on your needs you may get better PCB density and/or better performance using difference or differential or instrumentation amplifiers. These are merely a bunch of op-amps interconnected on a piece of silicon, often with matched resistors to improve characteristics like CMRR. They are vaguely different conceptually from the direct op-amp approach in that they amplify the difference on the inputs- so if you set the negative terminal to 0.5, it will amplify the 4V (4.5-0.5) which you can then scale by 10/4. Of course there are all kinds of tolerances at play here and you will want some method of calibrating it...The way your question is posed would suggest that we stop there, but experience has taught me that often simply converting to 0-10V is only the starting point and there are more requirements hidden in the wings. Depending on those requirements and your proclivities you could move away from a purely analog approach and  read to 0.5 to 4.5V into an ADC/micro and then process it as needs be and even output 0-10V.

To add to what David and Aubrey said, I found this site which explains differential amplifier circuits and includes the circuit diagrams.https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/opamp/opamp_5.html

This is what you want to use a reference for your opamp design: "Designing Gain and Offset in Thirty Seconds"  http://www.ti.com/lit/an/sloa097/sloa097.pdf
Things to note and remember:The closed loop feedback which determines your gain is always positive.  As in, the feedback goes to the positive terminal of the op-amp, unless you're designing a comparator.

Thank you to all.Aubrey:  Is it possible to use a single reference voltage (+12VDC) to accomplish 0 to10VDC from .5 to 4.5 VDC? using " difference or differential or instrumentation amplifiers. These are
merely a bunch of op-amps interconnected on a piece of silicon, often
with matched resistors to improve characteristics like CMRR." If so, what P/N amplifier would you recommend?Thanks,Stan