What Are Rotary Encoders Used For
What Are Rotary Encoders Used For
Table of Contents
As the shaft and disk rotate, the patterns interrupt the light beam. The sensor detects
these interruptions and converts them into digital pulses. The rate at which the pulses
are generated corresponds to the speed of rotation. And the total number of pulses
indicates the angular position.
Optical rotary encoders can be further divided into incremental and absolute types.
Incremental encoders:
These produce digital pulses to indicate motion and direction of rotation. But they
cannot provide any information about the absolute angular position.
They use optical sensors to detect rotation andconvert movement into digital pulses.
Common sensor arrangements are:
Quadrature encoders – Use two optical sensors with outputs offset by 90°.
This enables incremental counting as well as detecting direction of rotation.
Absolute encoders:
These encoders provide a unique digital code for each angular position over a single
revolution. This allows determining the absolute position of shaft at any given point.
Gray Code encoders – Use gray code pattern on disk. Each position has a
unique binary code.
Multi-turn absolute encoders – Use gears to track number of revolutions.
Codes position over multiple revolutions.
Instead of optical sensors, these encoders use Hall Effect sensors to detect magnetic
pole positions on a diametrically magnetized rotating magnet. Rotation of magnet
generates a digital pulse.
Some key specifications and parameters to consider while selecting a rotary encoder
are:
Some of the most common applications that use rotary encoders are:
Rotary encoders are extensively used in various types of electric motors and motion
control systems that need to track motor shaft position and speed. Some examples:
2. Automotive systems
3. Consumer electronics
Rotary encoders are ubiquitous in many consumer electronic devices. For example:
Digital cameras – Used in dials to provide input for aperture, shutter speed
settings.
Cell phones – Tracks scrolling and selection in volume, menu dials.
MP3 players – Used in jog dials for music navigation and selection.
Drones – Encoder feedback enables stable flight control and position hold.
High resolution encoders are indispensable for precision position sensing in:
5. Others
Encoder
Circuit schematic
1. Operating environment
Consider temperature, humidity, vibration, shocks, water exposure the encoder will
experience. Get suitable IP rating and ruggedized encoders if required.
Determine the smallest rotational increment that needs to be detected and the
precision required. This decides the resolution.
3. Electrical outputs
Select suitable voltage levels, interface types (TTL, CMOS etc.) and connector styles
as required by the interfacing circuits.
4. Power requirements
Consider the supply voltage, current rating, output loading and power dissipation
while matching with other system components.
5. Size constraints
Evaluate physical size limitations. Get miniature encoders for space constrained
applications.
6. Shaft loading
Factor in axial and radial loads on encoder shaft from gears, pulleys or couplings to
determine suitability.
7. Cost requirements
Weigh costs vs performance. Striking the right balance for the particular application.
8. Incremental vs absolute
By carefully considering these factors, the most appropriate rotary encoder type can
be selected for the specific application requirements.
Rotary encoders generate digital output waveforms that correspond to the shaft angle
and speed. Below are some typical output signals:
A single channel digital square wave with rising and falling edges indicating
incremental motion. Provides position change data.
Two square waves (Channel A and B) offset by 90°. Enables incremental counting
and direction sensing.
3. Pulse + Direction
Additional Direction signal indicates rotational direction. Used when direction needs
to be determined externally.
4. Sinusoidal wave
Approximates a sine wave pattern. Can provide higher resolution than square waves.
Rotary encoders provide digital output signals that can be easily interfaced with
microcontrollers like Arduino. Here are some basic techniques:
The encoder outputs can be connected directly to digital input pins. The encoder
signals can trigger pin state changes to generate interrupts.
Add pull-up or pull-down resistors between encoder outputs and supply to convert
bidirectional signals to unidirectional logic levels for microcontroller.
Many microcontrollers have pins that can trigger interrupts on any change in logic
state. Useful for encoders.
Encoder signals can be fed into counter chips like LS7366 that convert pulses into
binary counter values for microcontrollers.
Schmitt trigger buffers clean up and reshape noisy encoder waveforms before sending
signals to microcontroller.
Capture timer values on encoder signal edges. Timer values correspond to position.
Define states in code for each encoder signal combination. State transitions determine
direction and increments.
Use external encoder counter chips and simply poll their counter register from
microcontroller.
5. Quadrature decoding
Use both encoder channels to decode direction and enable x4 counting resolution.
Handle encoder faults like missing pulses or noisy signals to improve reliability.
1. Noisy output
2. Missed counts
4. Reduced accuracy
5. Intermittent rotation
Mechanical encoder
Capacitive encoder
Resolvers
Incremental encoders use optical sensors to produce pulses as shaft rotates. Common
arrangements are:
As disk rotates, pattern on disk interrupts the optical beams to generate digital pulses.
Square wave, pulse signals as well as analog sine wave outputs are possible.
Rotary encoders provide position and speed sensing in a wide range of automation
systems.
Related Posts: