Encoders

IAS / NC / Mechatronics
Reference - Mechatronics Textbook by William Boulton
Encoders
• There are several different ways in which encoders can be
characterized for motion control applications.

• The most common approach is to characterize these devices by the

type of movement being monitored, whether that be linear (straight-
line) or rotational.

• The three most common types of encoders are linear encoders, rotary
encoders, and angle encoders.
Encoders

• Absolute Encoders
• Incremental Encoders
Absolute Encoder & Incremental Encoder
• Absolute encoders are used in applications where knowing the exact position of an object
is important. They are also used in situations where the machine or process is inactive for a
large percentage of time or moves at a very slow rate.

• Incremental encoders use a simpler method of counting movement and rely on

establishing the position of the object by counting the number of pulses and then using
that count to compute the position.
• Because they rely on pulse counting, there is no unique digital signature that can be used
to determine an absolute position.
• Hence in the event of a power loss, incremental encoders must be referenced to a home
position or reference point so that the counter can be reset and then used to compute
relative movement.
• One way to think about the difference is that incremental encoders measure the relative
movement against some point of reference, whereas absolute encoders measure the
position directly using a unique signal code that directly reflects the position
Optical Encoders
• Optical encoders are the most accurate of all the sensing methods. A rotary
optical encoder consists of a light source such as an LED and a rotating disk that is
patterned with a series of opaque lines and alternating translucent slots.

• As the light passes through the rotating disk, a photosensor mounted on the
opposite side of the disk detects the light and generates a sinusoidal electrical
signal that corresponds to the presence of light detected from the translucent
slots and the absence of light from the opaque lines.

• An electrical circuit then converts the sinusoidal signal to a square wave signal,
which is a series of high and low pulses. These pulses are sent to a control circuit
that can be used to measure the pulse count as the encoder rotates and use that
data to determine a position for the rotating shaft or to control some action
based on movement or position.

• There are several different encoder sensing technologies Magnetic, Capacitive etc.
Incremental v/s Absolute Encoders in
Detail
Incremental Encoder
• The basic form of an incremental encoder for the measurement of angular
displacement.

• A beam of light passes through slots in a disc and is detected by a suitable

light sensor. When the disc is rotated, a pulsed output is produced by the
sensor with the number of pulses being proportional to the angle through
which the disc rotates.

• Thus the angular position of the disc, and hence the shaft rotating it, can be
determined by the number of pulses produced since some datum position. In
practice three concentric tracks with three sensors are used.
Incremental Encoder
• The inner track has just one hole and is used to locate the ‘home’ position of
the disc.

• The other two tracks have a series of equally spaced holes that go completely
round the disc but with the holes in the middle track offset from the holes in
the outer track by one-half the width of a hole.

• This offset enables the direction of rotation to be determined. In a clockwise

direction the pulses in the outer track lead those in the inner; in the anti-
clockwise direction they lag.
Incremental Encoder
• The resolution is determined by the number of slots on the disc.
With 60 slots in 1 revolution then, since 1 revolution is a rotation of
360°, the resolution is 360/60 = 6°.
Absolute Encoder
• The basic form of an absolute encoder for the measurement of angular
displacement. This gives an output in the form of a binary number of several
digits, each such number representing a particular angular position.

• The rotating disc has three concentric circles of slots and three sensors to
detect the light pulses.

• The slots are arranged in such a way that the sequential output from the
sensors is a number in the binary code.

• Typical encoders tend to have up to 10 or 12 tracks.

Absolute Encoder
• The number of bits in the binary number will be equal to the number
of tracks. Thus with 10 tracks there will be 10 bits and so the number
of positions that can be detected is 210, i.e. 1024, a resolution of
360/1024 = 0.35°.
Why Gray Code Better than Binary Code?
Why Gray Code Better than Binary Code?
Example