POSITAL has announced a major upgrade to its family of 36mm Kit encoders designed for motion control applications. As part of the company’s NEXTGEN program, product upgrades include higher resolution, more compact form factor, better dust resistance, and easier installation steps.

A Kit encoder, or module encoder, is an encoder specifically designed for integration into a motor or other rotating device to provide position feedback to a control system. While retaining many of the features of POSITAL’s independently mounted absolute encoders, Kit encoders are stripped of separate shafts and bearings. When mounted to the motor, a permanent magnet is mounted directly on the motor shaft, while the encoder module is mounted directly on the motor housing. The advantage of the Kit encoder is that it is rugged and cost-effective, and can provide precise position feedback to the rotating shaft, enabling inexpensive brushless or stepper motors to perform the functions of servo motors. At present, thousands of motors or machines are equipped with Kit encoders.

The key innovation that marks the next generation of Kit encoders is the application of TMR (tunnel reluctance) technology to rotary position sensing. The TMR sensor provides more accurate measurement of magnetic field changes, lower temperature sensitivity, and lower power consumption compared to the previous generation of Hall components, resulting in higher single-turn resolution (18 bits) and more stable performance for the new Kit encoder. For the multi-turn counting segment, the combination of a new ASIC and a new generation of Wiegand sensors provides a self-powered rotary counter. Through this system, even in the case of power failure, every rotation of the main engine shaft can be accurately recorded in the non-volatile memory of the encoder. Batteries are no longer needed for the number of turns stored.
The packaging of the new generation of 36mm Kit encoders has also been redesigned to make them easier to install and provide improved protection against dust and impurities. Compared to the previous generation’s 23.4mm high protective housing size, the new generation’s protective housing height is 19.3mm, which is easier to install into small Spaces. To simplify the installation process, the number of screws between the encoder and the motor housing has been reduced from four to two. The previous generation of mounting tags on the protective housing has been eliminated, and the protective housing and measurement module have been integrated into a separate unit. Cable clamps also have added seals to protect against dust and solid particles.

About POSITAL

POSITAL is a manufacturer of advanced industrial position sensors whose products are widely used in motion control and safety systems. We are also an innovator in product design and manufacturing processes, and a pioneer in Industry 4.0 (Internet of Things), allowing customers to order customized products at low prices for mass production. POSITAL is part of the FRABA State Machinery Group, which was founded in 1918 and whose predecessor, Franz Baumgartner elektrische Apparate GmbH, was founded in Cologne, Germany as a relay manufacturer. Since then, the company has played a leading role in the development of rotary encoders, inclinometers and other sensor products. Wiegand technology is the ideal solution for event sensing and energy recovery, and POSITAL’s sister company UTBITO is dedicated to the development and commercial application of Wiegand technology. POSITAL and UBITO have offices in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as sales and distribution partners around the world.