Encoders Are Vital to Essential Manufacturing
At Encoder Products Company (EPC), we are frequently asked – even by engineers – what IS an encoder, anyway? This video gives you an overview of what encoders are and how they fit into motion control applications. Encoders are vital to industry and manufacturing. As one of the few encoder manufacturers in the US, EPC is an essential business supporting other essential industries. We are operating under normal business hours and filling orders in days, not weeks.
Transcript
00:00:00 [Music] so what's an encoder an encoder is an electromechanical feedback device that provides information about position count speed and direction encoders produce signals that are received by a control device in order to perform a specific function there are two main categories of encoders based on the type of
00:00:29 position information they produce incremental and absolute incremental encoders provide a steady stream of high and low pulses that indicate movement from one position to the next the encoder does not indicate any specific position only that the position has changed absolute encoders on the other hand indicate both that the position has changed and the location of that
00:00:53 position relative to shaft rotation the encoder provides a unique digital word or bit for each increment of rotation for example an absolute encoder can be used to indicate the exact pitch of a wind turbine blade allowing the Blade's angle to be adjusted according to wind speed there are also two types of absolute encoders single turn absolute encoders provide information for any
00:01:20 increment within one shaft rotation multi- turn absolute encoders retain absolute position data over the course of multiple shaft rotations as many as has a half billion turns thus exact shaft position is always known even after power interruptions absolute encoders are the best choice for applications where exact position needs to be known an absolute
00:01:46 encoder is often the preferred solution when the device is inactive for long periods of time or moves at a very slow rate such as Floodgate control telescopes cranes or valve positioning industrial encoders commonly use either Optical or magnetic sensing Technologies an optical encoder uses the interruption of a beam of light to produce a signal while a magnetic encoder relies on
00:02:12 alternating positive and negative magnetic poles this presentation will focus on optical encoders since they are applied more frequently here are the basic elements of an optical incremental encoder a beam of light produced by an LED passes through a transparent disc patterned with radial opaque lines as the light passes through the rotating disc it
00:02:35 contacts a photo sensor the sensor responds to the alternating light and dark pattern by producing a sinusoidal electrical wave which is converted to a square wave that is a series of high and low pulses the square wave signal is then transmitted to a separate device such as a counter or controller the signal is processed to provide commands back to the machine or device in order
00:02:59 to perform a desired function in this cut to length application we can see how elements of a motion system including an encoder work together the movement of material under the measuring wheel rotates the encoder shaft the encoder generates a square wave which is sent to the controller the controller receives and counts the pulses at a preset number it activates the cutting assembly which
00:03:23 cuts the material to the proper length while incremental and absolute encoders May differ in internal Electronics mechanically they're very similar shown here is an industrial shaft encoder most of epc's encoders like this example feature a non-corrosive black metal case with a variety of mounting face options the housing protects the internal
00:03:46 Electronics while carrying the shaft on Precision ABC ball bearings through Bo encoders can be fixed directly onto a shaft using clamps or set screws flexible mounting tethers keep the encoder from rot ating with the shaft and also minimize loads on the encoder bearings through Bo encoders are available in a wide variety of sizes and have become popular with machine
00:04:09 designers due to their ease of installation and lower cost now that you've learned what an encoder is and how it works where are they used encoders can be used in any process where distance position or speed needs to be measured for example they are commonly found in packaging filling and conveying here filling cut to length and flow control can all be measured by an
00:04:33 encoder Printing and binding textile mills Automotive agriculture oil and chemical metal roll forming tooling Machinery paper and Food Mills all these industries use encoders have you used a machine lately that might have an encoder in it for more information about encoders and how they can benefit your application visit encoder decom when you
00:04:57 contact encoder Products Company you'll talk with real engineers and encoder experts for your toughest encoder and motion control questions [Music]