W H I T E PA P E R

Encoder Basics for

Motion Control Engineers
Encoders are critical elements in a motion system because they provide
position and/or velocity feedback to the motion controller, enabling the
controller to close the control loop. The number of applications that require
encoders is extensive and the types and sizes of encoders that serve these
applications are just as numerous. It can be quite daunting for the design
engineer to choose just the right encoder for his or her needs. This paper
looks at the differences between encoder types and some of the options that
can be specified to select the best encoder for the job, focusing on the most
common encoder type: the rotary encoder.

L I N E A R V S. R OTA RY E N CO D E R S
Position/velocity encoders come in two mechanical configurations: linear or rotary. As the
name suggests, a linear encoder measures the position or velocity of an object moving in a
straight line. Typical linear applications are the control of linear motors or X-Y tables such as
those found on vertical CNC mills or pick and place machines used in electronics assembly.
They are also commonly found in devices such as metrology instruments including digital
calipers. A rotary encoder, on the other hand, is used to measure angle or velocity of rotation
of an object. Some typical uses include motor speed control, or the angular control of a
movable PV array for solar tracking, or controlling the angular position of a robot arm.

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 Rotary encoders are available with different physical
specifications to serve different working environments.
For example, those used in harsh industrial applications
must be designed to withstand rugged and extreme working
conditions. Extreme temperatures, vibration, dirt and debris
are some of the challenges that these encoders have to
survive on a daily basis. As a result, industrial encoders
tend to be big and solidly built to withstand the tough
environment. For less harsh environments, such as those in
electronics manufacturing, the emphasis may be on smaller
size, lower cost or the ability to take advantage of more
E4T Miniature Incremental Encoder
configuration options.

O P T I C A L V S. M AG N E T I C E N CO D E R S
Optical encoders are more common and provide the highest levels of accuracy and resolution.
Rotary encoders use an optical sensor to detect light that is transmitted through or reflected
from a disk (also known as a code wheel) whose pattern has both transparent and non-
transparent lines. When the light is received by the sensor, the encoder puts out a high signal.
Conversely, when the light is blocked by a line on the code wheel, the sensor puts out a low
signal. So with a known pattern on the disk, the distance moved and speed of movement can
be obtained using the signal information.

Linear and rotary encoders may use either

optics or magnetics to sense movement.

Magnetic encoders use code wheels with alternating magnetic poles distributed around the
wheel according to the resolution required. A magnetic sensor in the encoder detects the
change in the magnetic field as the wheel rotates and produces a digital pulse train. Magnetic
encoders have an advantage in that they are not as environmentally sensitive as optical
encoders, and can be used in areas that have higher humidity, dust, and vibration. Magnetic
encoders may also operate in various fluid environments. Magnetic encoders use less power
than their optical counterparts, but typically do not provide the same resolution or positional
accuracy as optical encoders due to inherent non-linearities in the magnetic field.

Use of a magnetic encoder may be preferable to an optical encoder when there is a chance
for an optical disk to become fogged as moisture condenses on the code wheel. Consider an
application where an optical encoder is held at a very low temperature and then the ambient
temperature quickly increases. This quick temperature change can cause condensation on
all surfaces of the encoder, including the optical code wheel. When the code wheel surface
collects droplets of moisture, the light transfer of the code wheel image to the optical sensor
becomes disrupted and a false or missing signal may occur on the output. With a magnetic
encoder design, condensation of moisture is not an issue with the rotating magnet and
magnetic sensor.

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 M E C H A N I C A L CO N F I G U R AT I O N S
Motor feedback encoders may contain their own bearings,
or they may use an existing bearing set such as that found on
the tail shaft of a servo motor. Which configuration option to
use is a function of the stability of the shaft/bearings to which
the encoder is attached. Feedback encoders with bearings
are typically used when the application shaft has a significant
amount of axial or radial run out (eccentricity or vibration).
This style of encoder will incorporate some sort of flexible
member, either a flexible shaft coupling or flexible body
mount, to allow mechanical compliance with the application
shaft operating irregularities.

Modular encoders, also referred to as Kit encoders, dont

contain their own internal shaft. They are assembled from
components supplied by the encoder manufacturer and are
designed to be attached to the tail shaft and end bell of the
motor. These encoders rely on a mechanically stable motor
shaft, as the shaft is responsible for holding the encoders
internal rotating code wheel in a precise location relative
to the encoders sensing element. For these applications,
motor manufacturers put a considerable amount of effort in
designing high-performance motors with very stable shaft/
bearing assemblies. Because the modular design does not add
the expense of the extra set of bearings that a motor feedback
encoder does, modular encoders offer the most cost effective
feedback solutions.

A B S O LU T E V S. I N C R E M E N TA L S E N S I N G
One of the basic classifications used for encoders is whether their architecture is absolute
or incremental in design. This refers to the type of output the encoder emits. As mentioned
before, an incremental encoder uses the lines on the internal code wheel to output a digital
pulse train that corresponds to the sensor detecting light and dark regions (or magnetic
poles as is the case with magnetic encoders). Typically incremental optical sensors use
multiple sensing elements separated by a certain number of degrees and simple analog to
digital electronics to produce two phase-shifted output pulse trains (commonly referred
to as channel A and channel B). The speed of rotation can be de-duced from the frequency
of the pulses, while direction of rotation is derived from the phase difference between the
A and B pulse trains. In some incremental encoders, an additional optical channel is added
to the code wheel, with a specific optical pattern and its own sensor designed to provide
a once-per-rotation electrical pulse. This pulse, called an index, can enable the motion
controller to calculate the angular position of the motor axis during the rotation of the
encoder code wheel.

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 Incremental encoders are very useful for
both position and speed control, as the
pulses are very simple to process. The
drawback to incremental encoders is that
anytime power is lost, the true position of
the mechanical system will be lost as well.
In such cases the mechanical system will
need to be reset to known initial location
MA3 Single-Turn Absolute Encoder
and restarted.

Absolute encoder outputs can take different

forms depending on the encoder selected.
In some applications, this type of recalibration process is not possible, or is very expensive. An
example would be semiconductor manufacturing equipment, where machines are required to
maintain very tight positional tolerances. After a power loss event, the machines require the
ability to continue an operation from the exact point at the moment power was lost, without
performing a recalibration procedure. In such situations, absolute encoders are necessary.

An absolute rotary encoder differs from an incremental encoder in that it provides an output
that corresponds to a specific angle of shaft position. That angle is specified to a resolution
defined by a number of bits (e.g., 10 bits or 12 bits), depending on the total number of
angular markings on the internal wheel. This is in contrast to the series of pulses emitted
from an incremental encoder that must be counted to define a shafts position following a
homing cycle.

Absolute encoder outputs can take different forms depending on the encoder selected. With
some encoders, the shaft angle is converted to an analog voltage that increases monotonically
as the shaft rotates. Absolute encoders may also provide a pulse-width modulated output
that produces pulses that grow in width as the shaft is rotated. And some encoders provide
angular information digitally via an RS-485-style serial interface supporting a standard
communications protocol such as Modbus, CANOpen or Profibus. This makes it easy for a
motion controller with one of these interfaces to determine the exact position of the shaft.

A multi-turn absolute encoder is a variant that has the ability

to give absolute positional information over multiple turns
of the shaft. The total available resolution of a multi-turn
absolute encoder is the sum of the number of single turn
bits plus the turns counting bits. For instance, an absolute
encoder with a resolution of 10 bits per turn (dividing the 360
degrees around the wheel into 1024 segments) and providing
a 12-bit turn count will yield 22 total bits of resolution (i.e., up
to 1024 different angular position readings) over 4096 turns
of the shaft.

With all the options available, the design engineer will have
to choose the encoder that is best for the application. As a
MAE3 Single-Turn Absolute Kit Encoder result of the added complexities, absolute encoders are more
expensive than incremental encoders, but they are also much
better suited for critical positional control situations.

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 ACC U R AC Y V S. R E S O LU T I O N
As discussed, encoders provide the motion controller with information about the velocity
and/or position of a rotating shaft or linear motion actuator. The encoder provides position
information plus or minus a specific tolerance which characterizes the accuracy of the device.
The accuracy specification is the most commonly misunderstood aspect of an encoder. Often
an encoder with higher resolution is specified on the assumption that more lines on a disk will
provide more positional accuracy. This is incorrect, as accuracy and resolution of an encoder
are not connected in any way.

The accuracy of an encoder is primarily defined by the precision with which the code
information is placed on the disk and how concentric the disk pattern rotates with respect to
the encoders sensing element. Encoder accuracy is specified in units of arc-minutes or arc-
seconds. For example: a low resolution incremental encoder of 100 lines (or magnetic poles)
per revolution will report 180 degrees just as accurately as an encoder with 10,000 lines per
revolution if they both share the same positional accuracy specification. The high resolution
encoder can just break the steps between 0 and 180 degrees into finer increments.

Another way to understand the difference between accuracy

and resolution is to think of encoders as a form of analog
to digital converter. They convert the analog value of
mechanical shaft position to a digital form. As with their
electronic A to D cousins, it isnt enough to simply specify
resolution. The accuracy of a traditional electronic A to D is
usually specified with two terms: integral non-linearity, and
differential non-linearity.

Differential non-linearity is the amount by which adjacent

codes differ from each other and is directly tied to resolution;
it has to be less than one bit, or else the resolution has been
over-specified (a 12 bit encoder with a differential non-
linearity of 2 bits is really an 11 bit encoder). With encoders,
1-in. Hubdisk
differential non-linearity corresponds to the monotonicity of
the encoder output codes. For an incremental encoder this is
almost never a problem: if the encoder has 1000 lines on the
disk you will get 1000 pulses out of the encoder.

Integral non-linearity is a measure of how much the actual response of the converter departs
from the ideal response of a perfect converter; most electronic A to Ds have a bow-shaped
error curve relative to a line drawn from zero to maximum input value. However, integral non-
linearity is more elusive and difficult to pin down in the world of encoders. It wont be found
on most data sheets, though it still exists, usually as a sine wave shaped error curve.

The major cause of integral non-linearity in encoders is the concentricity error between the
code wheel and encoder sensing element. There often is a set screw that secures the code
wheel hub to the shaft. This, combined with the clearance necessary to slip the hub onto the
shaft, gives rise to a very slight eccentricity of motion relative to the encoders disk pattern
detection system. When the amount of eccentricity is known, the nonlinearity
can be calculated and compensated for in the motion control algorithm.

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 CO N C LU S I O N
Encoders are available in many mechanical and
functional versions. Understanding some of the
basic tradeoffs in encoder design will allow a
system designer to properly select an encoder that
will meet his/her cost and performance needs over
the life of their application.

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A B O U T U S D I G I TA L
With over a million-off-the-shelf configurations, plus any
number of custom products, US Digital offers stellar service,
delivering motion control solutions best suited to each
unique need. Automated systems, continuous improvement
protocols and stringent testing ensures we bring quality to
every product manufactured.

Located in Vancouver, Washington, our vertically integrated

facility and personalized service provides customers with
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offering same-day fulfillment on most orders.

Visit usdigital.com or contact:

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