Encoders can use either optical or magnetic sensing technology.
Optical sensing provides high resolutions, high operating speeds, and reliability, long life operation in most environments.
Magnetic sensing, often used in rugged applications provides good resolution, high operating speeds, and maximum resistance to dust, moisture, and thermal and mechanical shock.
Optical Encoders: principles
Optical encoders’ principle of operation is relatively simple; a light source (photo-emitter) sends light through a mobile disk or scale, consisting of a succession of opaque and transparent parts, on photo-receivers. When the disk or the scale moves, it conveys or alternatively blocks the light emitted by the source; the scale or the disk is acts in fact as a beam switch. The photoreceiver generates an electrical signal, which is processed and analyzed in order to allow encoding the system position.
An optical encoder consists of three major subsets:
- Encoder housing.
- Optical block: consisting of an emission system, an optical coding system and a detection system. It generates the position function signal.
- Electronics block: it allows amplifying, converting and processing the signal.