Inductive Encoder – Product Specification Requirements

If you want to specify an OEM or custom sensor, then cover these 10 points and you will have covered all necessary aspects:-

1. Geometry– for example, linear or rotary or curvi-linear or 2D or 3D
2. Full-scale – for example, 360 degrees or 600mm
3. Resolution – in other words, the smallest change that must be measured – for example 0,1 degrees or 0,2mm
4. Repeatability – in other words, the stability of the measurement in terms of going back to the same point – for example repeatability = +/-0,025mm
5. Linearity – the maximum allowable deviation from a perfectly accurate reading.  You might want to think carefully about this since we often find that what is most important for many applications is actually repeatability.
6. Temperature range – for example, -40 + 85Celsius
7. Electrical supply – for example, 5V, 12V or 24V
8. Electrical output – for example RS232, A/B pulses, 0-10V, 4-20mA
9. Unusual stuff – such as – “we want to keep power consumption as low as possible” or “it’s for submersion in hot sulphuric acid” or “we’re using a capacitive device and we have reliability problems”
10. Quantity – for example, “100/year”