12 Facts About Rotary encoder

Rotary encoder, called a shaft encoder, is an electro-mechanical device that converts the angular position or motion of a shaft or axle to analog or digital output signals.

The output of an absolute Rotary encoder indicates the current shaft position, making it an angle transducer.

The output of an incremental Rotary encoder provides information about the motion of the shaft, which typically is processed elsewhere into information such as position, speed and distance.

An absolute Rotary encoder maintains position information when power is removed from the Rotary encoder.

An absolute Rotary encoder has multiple code rings with various binary weightings which provide a data word representing the absolute position of the Rotary encoder within one revolution.

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Multi-turn absolute rotary encoder includes additional code wheels and toothed wheels.

An incremental Rotary encoder will immediately report changes in position, which is an essential capability in some applications.

Optical Rotary encoder's disc is made of glass or plastic with transparent and opaque areas.

Magnetic Rotary encoder uses a series of magnetic poles to represent the Rotary encoder position to a magnetic sensor (typically magneto-resistive or Hall Effect).

In such cases, the Rotary encoder serves as a feedback device that plays a vital role in proper equipment operation.

For example, if the Rotary encoder were used in a robot arm, the controller would think that the arm was in the wrong position, and try to correct the error by turning it through 180°, perhaps causing damage to the arm.

Rotary incremental encoder has two output signals, A and B, which issue a periodic digital waveform in quadrature when the encoder shaft rotates.