Manufacturing technology

Updated absolute linear encoder

EnDat 3’s new interface has the benefits of previous versions, but is faster and more robust, with simplified functional safety features. It uses a 200kHz clock frequency, compared to the 16kHz of previous versions, and has doubled its supported bandwidth, from 12.5Mb/s to 25Mb/s.

Functional safety aspects of the interface have been simplified with the EnDat 3 leveraging the industry standard for functional safety – black channel – making implementation easier for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

The EnDat 3 interface detects its absolute position, rather than just its position relative to a reference, advantageous at machine start up as it doesn’t require any machine movement to establish its position.

Cabling requirements are reduced – going down to a 2- or 4-wire setup from the eight wires previously needed. For robotics applications, the EnDat 3 offers bus operation, allowing manufacturers to daisy-chain encoders, reducing cabling and costs, simplifying design and manufacturing.

It has increased memory and storage capacity and the ability to password-protect information stored in the encoder, such as specific code or machine information. The new interface supports an increased number of temperature sensors and added support for multi-dimensional encoders, offering easier installation and simplified downstream calculation when using multiple reader heads on a single cable.

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