Capacitive Encoder

Typical reasons for using capacitive encoders:

• The environment is heavily affected by electromagnetic interference
• An extremely short axial overall length is required
• A large internal bore in combination with short axial length is required
• Robustness against dust, humidity, shock and vibration is required

Our capacitive encoder uses the capacitive measuring principle and is therefore immune to EMC interference. EMC disturbances can occur in the vicinity of power electronics or in certain medical applications such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) technology. Due to the holographic measuring principle, which derives the signal over the full effective area of the encoder disc, the accuracy is less sensitive to mounting tolerances than with optical angle measurement systems. The capacitive encoder has no glass disc and no light source / light receiver and is therefore insensitive to dust, humidity, shock and vibration.

VL series are kit encoders (rotor+stator, no housing) specially designed for robotics.

The main features are:

• Absolute position
• Short axial length
• Large throughbore (especially useful for cables which must pass through robotic joints).
• No bearings
• High accuracy
• Hardened against temperature, shock, moisture
• Hardened against EMI/EMC and magnetic fields
• 18-20-bit resolution
• Accuracy ±0.010°

The encoder works by measuring capacitance over the full area of the encoder disc, thus, the mechanical mounting tolerances of the encoder are very flexible. At the same time, the encoder delivers very high accuracy. As the encoder has no ball bearings, glass code disks, LED light sources and other parts subject to wear-and-tear, it is a very reliable device. In addition, the power consumption is very low. The encoder is single-turn and provides SSI or BiSS-C absolute feedback.

RECKONIC offers the following single-turn encoder models:

• VLX-60 with 60 mm outer diameter and 25 mm through hole mm
• VLP-60 with 60 mm outer diameter and 25 mm through hole
• VLP-100 with 100 mm outer diameter and 48 mm through hole

RECKONIC offers the following multi-turn encoder:

• VLM-60 with 60 mm outer diameter and 25 mm through hole.

Please download one of the datasheets on the right-hand side for more information. Alternatively, feel free to contact us, to talk to an experienced engineer about your application.
 

• Lightweight miniature absolute rotary encoder
• Hollow floating shaft
• No bearing or other contacts
• High precision
• High tolerance to EMI, RFI and magnetic fields
• Digital interfaces for absolute position

The VLM-60 multi-turn encoder is an extremely low profile, hollow shaft absolute rotary encoder. The Encoder ensures the accuracy and reliability demanded by these applications. A 17-bit single-plus-15-bit multi-turn resolution ensures smooth and continuous production since the master reads the multi-turn positions from the encoder both at start-up and throughout the operation. In case of a power outage or a machine shutdown, the VLM-60 maintains the multi-turn absolute position by utilizing an internal battery or an external power source.

The encoder is resistant to extreme environmental conditions such as, humidity and dust, extreme temperatures, shock and vibration, as well as resistant to magnetic fields and electromagnetic interference (EMI), enabling trouble-free performance under almost all conditions.

Features

• Multi-turn encoder – 17 bit single + 15 bit multi-turn resolution
• Low profile (<8 mm)
• High resolution and precision
• Hollow shaft
• Adaptable resolution
• Environmentally durable

The encoder's versatile features make it suitable for a wide range of demanding tasks in the aerospace, defense, automotive, medical and robotics sectors.