Encoders are the most widely used feedback devices for electric motor control, capable of delivering precise position and speed feedback for closed-loop performance. With numerous technology options ...

What is a rotary encoder? A rotary encoder (RT) is a device that you can rotate infinitely. On most rotary encoders, when you rotate them you will feel a bump (known as steps), and most RTs have about ...

The sensing mechanism in an incremental optical rotary encoder consists primarily of a light source, code wheel, and optical detector. As the code wheel turns, a ring of alternating opaque and ...

Similar in size and shape to the common panel-mounted potentiometer, the incremental rotary encoder provides an inexpensive ‘digital’ alternative to the analog potentiometer. It is typically used to ...

[Pete] needed a rotary encoder for one of his project so he set out to build his own. As the name implies, a rotary encoder measures rotation by encoding “steps” into electrical signals which can be ...

Rotary quadrature encoders often are used to command digital potentiometers or digital controllers, and quadrature decoding is typically performed in a programmable device (like an FPGA or ...

As you may have noticed, I’ve been working with an STM32 ARM CPU using Mbed. There was a time when Mbed was pretty simple, but a lot has changed since it has morphed into Mbed OS. Unfortunately, that ...

Encoders are a vital component in many applications that require motion control and feedback information. Whether a system’s requirement is speed, direction, or distance, an encoder produces control ...

Direct-drive systems are firmly entrenched in the semiconductor and electronics-manufacturing industries, and are becoming increasingly common in the machine tool industry. Direct-drive systems offer ...

In robotics, movements must be precise and well-controlled. As robots are asked to do more as industry becomes more familiar with the technology, there will be an increasing need for high accuracy ...

Last year, Automation World examined the differences between accuracy, resolution, and precision in the encoder world. And while understanding the differences among these terms is important to ...