Selection Guide For Encoders
Selection Guide For Encoders
Very often the differences between two encoders seem to be marginal. With the help of this
document you are in the position to find these differences quickly and easily enabling you to
choose the right encoder product family.
The question seems to be easy. However, the correct answer is the basis used when
entering the selection guide on the next two pages. There we distinguish between “rotary”
and “linear”.
Incremental encoders
DGS34/35
ARS20/25
A3M60
AFM60
DBS36
DBS50
ATM60
ATM90
ARS60
DFS60
DFV60
AFS60
DFS2x
HD52
HD32
Should an absolute position always Yes ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
be measured?
No ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
How many absolute turns should be
measured?
No absolute measurement ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
1 ■ ■ ■
2 or more ■ ■ ■ ■
Which Interface connection is required? TTL/HTL ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Open Collector ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
SIN/COS 1 VPP ■
Parallel ■ ■
SSI ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
PROFIBUS ■ ■ ■
CANopen ■
DeviceNet ■
EtherNet/IP ■ ■
PROFINET ■ ■
EtherCAT ■ ■
What is the maximum diameter
available?
Up to 36 mm ■
Up to 40 mm ■
Up to 50 mm ■ ■ ■ ■
Up to 60 mm ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Up to 90 mm ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
What type of mounting shaft is required? Face mount flange
solid shaft ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Sqaure mount flange
solid shaft ■ ■ ■ ■
Servo flange solid shaft ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Blind hollow shaft ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Through hollow shaft ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Should a measuring wheel be used to
measure the position?
Yes ■
No ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Is a shaft diameter > 16 mm required? Yes ■
No ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
What resolution is required (pulses/
steps)?
Up to 2,500 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Up to 8,192 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
> 8,192 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
> 32,768 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Is a solution enabling programming
by the customer required (resolution,
Yes ■ ■ ■ 1)
■ ■ 1) 1)
■ ■ 1) 1)
zero-pulse …)? No ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
1)
Programming by programming tool (SSI) or controller of the relevant bus interface.
Compact
HighLine
EcoLine
KH53A
TTK70
KH53
Maximum number of measuring cycles? Up to 1,000,000 ■ ■ ■
Infinite ■ ■ ■
Which type of distance measurement is
required?
Absolute ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Incremental ■ ■ ■ ■
Which interface connection is required? TTL/HTL ■ ■ ■
Analog ■ ■
HIPERFACE ■ ■ ■ ■ 2)
SSI ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
PROFIBUS ■ ■ ■ ■
CANopen ■ ■
DeviceNet ■ ■
EtherNet/IP ■ ■
PROFINET ■ ■
EtherCAT ■ ■
Is a continuous mounting surface avail-
able along the total measuring length?
Yes ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
No ■ ■ ■
How are the mounting tolerances? Low ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Middle ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
High ■
What measuring length is required? ≤5m ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
≤ 10 m ■ ■ ■ ■
≤ 50 m ■ ■ ■
≤ 548 m ■ ■
≤ 1,700 m ■
What resolution is required? ≤ 0.1 mm ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
≤ 0.05 mm ■ ■ ■
≤ 1 µm ■ ■
How robust should the measuring system
be?
Low ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
Middle ■ ■ ■ ■ ■
High ■ ■ ■
Which frame size can be used? Small ■ ■
Middle ■ ■
Large ■ ■ ■
2)
On demand
Code disc
A
-- See “Output frequency, maximum“ on page 10
Analog interface
Code type
Standard analog interface: As required from 4 to 20 mA, or 0 to
10 V output signal. Unique encoding of the measured values according to a defined
scheme at the encoder output. In practice, different codes are
B used for different electrical interfaces, e.g. SSI interface with
Gray code.
Baud rate
Cycle
Gives the signal rate and hence the speed of serial data trans-
fer in bits per second. -- See “Service life“ on page 11
Bend radius
D
In cabling terms, the bend radius relates to the smallest curve
radius a cable may have when installed, without the cable
DeviceNet
properties being altered. The bend radius is given in relation to
the cable diameter.
Differential evaluation
Bus system Evaluation of signals produced by a circuit which produces a sig-
A system for transferring data between multiple devices over nal and its invert. The 1/0 level, or sine/cosine signals are trans-
a common cable. A bus system makes it possible to control all ferred in the form of voltage differences between two cables. In
sensors and actuators centrally. Additional information such as this way, the signal used (the difference) remains uncorrupted as
process data, service data and diagnostics data can also be interference normally affects both cables equally.
exchanged.
Drag chain use suitability
Well known examples are:
Drag chain use suitability is the ability of cabling to be used in
DeviceNet, PROFIBUS, CANopen, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP,
moving applications. PUR cabling is suitable for drag chain use,
EtherCAT.
but PVC cabling is of limited suitability or completely unsuitable.
Additional information on bus systems can be found in this
In the case of PUR cabling, the number of bend cycles is gener-
glossary under the CANopen, DeviceNet, EtherCAT, EtherNet/IP,
ally greater and the bend radius smaller than with PVC cabling.
PROFIBUS and PROFINET entries.
Drum circumference
C The resolution in mm of a wire draw encoder can be deter-
mined using the circumference of the drum and the resolution
CANopen of the rotary encoder (e.g. 12 bits per revolution).
Channel
Signal path upon which a signal is output.
EtherCAT
E
EMC
Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) means that technical EtherCAT is an Ethernet based fieldbus.
equipment should not be affected by electromagnetic interfer-
User organization: EtherCAT Technology Group
ence. This is achieved both by limiting sources of interference
in devices and by devices being designed to be sufficiently More detailed information about this technology is available at
resistant to interference. EMC is regulated by EU Directives and www.ethercat.org
Standards.
EtherNet / IP
Enclosure rating
The enclosure rating indicates the degree of protection of a
machine or sensor against contact and penetration by impuri-
ties and water. The enclosure ratings begin with the letters IP,
followed by the first digit, which indicates the degree of protec- EtherNet / IP is an Ethernet based fieldbus.
tion provided against touch and particles. The second digit User organization: ODVA
describes the protection against penetration by water. More detailed information about this technology is available at
Encoders www.odva.com
Encoders are sensors for monitoring position, angle and speed.
Essentially, encoders can be categorized as rotary or linear.
F
Rotary encoders are sub-divided into incremental and absolute
encoders. Linear encoders are further sub-divided into wire Fieldbus
draw encoders and non-contact linear encoders. Bus system in the process area for direct connection of sensors
and actuators that have their own intelligence. Data in digital
Encoders, absolute form is transferred between sensors, actuators and control de-
Absolute encoders generate information relating to position, vices via a fieldbus. This transfer must be as rapid as possible,
angle and rotation counts in type-specific angle steps. For this, i.e. close to real time. For this, a fixed minimum and maximum
a unique code pattern is assigned to each angle step. The num- response time must be guaranteed.
ber of code patterns available per revolution determines the
resolution. Each code pattern forms a unique reference, and is Flange
therefore absolute position information. There is therefore no Part of the encoder for fixing to the customer installation inter-
need for a reference run after switching on. A singleturn encoder face. There are various mechanical versions, for example:
measures the absolute position within a revolution. A multiturn
encoder not only provides the position within a revolution but also
the number of revolutions.
Encoders, incremental
Incremental encoders generate information related to position,
angle and number of rotations. The number of lines per revolu-
tion determines the number of impulses that the encoder trans-
mits to the control unit for each revolution. The current position
can be determined by the control unit counting these impulses
Left: Face mount flange; Right: Servo flange.
from a reference point. When the machine is switched on, a
reference run to the reference point is required to determine
the actual position of the encoder.
Error limit
The error limit is the largest positive or negative deviation of
any angle position (absolute) or of a measured angle (incre-
mental) from the true value.
Inverted signal
Reciprocal signal for the suppression of interference impulses
when using differential sampling.
High Performance Interface (HIPERFACE®) is a hybrid interface 90° el. Measurement step
developed by SICK that can transfer analog speed values and 360° el.
Jitter
The High Performance Interface DSL is a pure Digital Servo From the English verb “to jitter”: flicker, tremble; time variation of
Link interface developed by SICK that provides new servo the output signal resulting from constantly present tolerances.
drive system architecture for HIPERFACE® with a completely
new range of options as it is not hybrid (analog/digital), but is
completely digital.
Thanks to the innovative and interference-free HIPERFACE DSL®
protocol, rugged and reliable communication can be achieved
using just two wires that are integrated into the motor cable.
In addition, the digital protocol requires a minimum of connection
Measurement step
L
There is a differentiation here between the measurement step
for absolute and incremental measurement systems.
Linear encoders
A linear encoder is for frictionless length measurement and de- Incremental measurement systems:
termining positions. A read head samples a code pattern or the In this case, the measurement step represents the period of
magnetic field of a magnetic scale and outputs the appropriate the output signal. Here, the number of periods is the same as
electric signal. the number of lines per revolution on the measurement scale,
or a multiple thereof.
Absolute measurement systems:
In this case the measurement step is the smallest possible
angular movement of the rotor that will produce a change in
the output signal.
Multiturn (MT)
A version of an absolute encoder that in addition to the angular
position of the shaft (singleturn) can also definitively determine
Principle of operation and output the number of shaft rotations (multiturn).
Linearity
The accuracy of wire draw encoders is described by the linear-
ity. This indicates the maximum deviation for the measurement
of a defined measurement distance or rotation. In contrast to
repeatability, this relates to the measuring range covered and
not to the positioning point.
The data sheet values for wire draw encoders refer to the par-
ticular measuring range.
Measurement range
The range within which a rotary or linear encoder can produce
a valid measurement signal.
N P
PROFIBUS
O
Offset
The difference between the actual physical value and the preset
value is described as the offset. This can be both a position PROFIBUS is a fieldbus for industrial communications.
offset for position measurement, as well as a voltage offset.
User organization: PNO (PROFIBUS Nutzerorganisation e. V.)
Position: Offset value More detailed information about this technology is available at
2000 www.profibus.com
The formula used is as follows: More detailed information about this technology is available at
n*Z www.profibus.com
f=
60 s
R
Z = Number of encoder lines; n = Revolutions per / min; f = Output frequency.
Reference signal
Repetition accuracy
Reproducibility
Reproducibility, repetition accuracy or repeatability is defined
as the maximum distribution from at least five consecutive
measurements, carried out under identical conditions.
Sampling frequency
The frequency with which the signal periods of a sensor system
are measured per second.
For incremental measuring systems, the speed is limited by the
maximum sampling frequency.
Sampling, magnetical
Position, angle and speed determination for rotary or linear en-
coders using permanent magnets and appropriate evaluation
units to determine the magnetic field. Encoders with magnetic
sampling are usually of lower resolution than optical ones. Code discs: Left incremental, right absolute.
Scaling
φ
For programmable encoders, the encoder actual value is multi-
plied by a scaling factor. This means that the resolution can be
adapted to the application in question.
SSI
Stator coupling
The stator coupling compensates for both the radial and axial
shaft movements of the drive element as well as installation
tolerances without significantly affecting the accuracy of hollow
shaft encoders. The stator coupling absorbs the torque derived
from the bearing friction during angular acceleration.
Shielding
The shielding of equipment or connecting cables is the design-
dependent protection of equipment against radiated electro-
magnetic interference. Sensitivity to radiated electromagnetic
interference, as well as the intensity of radiated electromag-
netic interference, must be reduced by full shielding so that the
encoder can be used properly. This should be extensive and all
around.
W
Zero pulse width, electrical
Wire draw encoder Width of the zero pulse (= length of the high signal) in relation
Wire draw encoders are position sensors that function according to an impulse period.
to the cable extension principle. The sensor system consists of a
90° el.
wire draw mechanism and a rotary encoder. The core component Measurement step
360° el.
of a wire draw encoder is a drum around which a wire is wound
in a single layer. Winding is achieved by means of a spring. A
The resolution of the wire draw encoder can be determined from
the relationship between the circumference of the drum and the
resolution of the rotary encoder. B
90°
Z1 elec. gated with
Channel A and B
Spring
drive
180°
Z2 elec. gated with
Channel B
Clutch
180°
Adapter Z3 elec. gated with
Measuring Channel A
wire
270°
Z4 elec. gated with
Channel A or B
Measurement
drum
Encoder
system
1 turn
360° mech.
1°–359°
Z
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