Intrinsically Safe Absolute Rotary Encoders

In the most hazardous environments, where an explosive atmosphere consisting of flammable gas or vapor is regularly present and a sensor fault cannot be risked, Intrinsically Safe (IS) sensors may be the best sensing option. Generally, these sensors are paired with a barrier which limits the amount of electrical and thermal energy that can enter the Hazardous Area to an amount that is so small that even in the situation of a sensor fault, there is not enough energy to cause an ignition.

Inductosyn: End of an Era, New Opportunities or Both?

Recently, obtaining the Inductosyn and components for maintenance has become more difficult. For decades the Inductosyn from Farrand Controls / Ruhle Companies sat near the top of the rotary sensor hierarchy. Providing sub 2 arcsec (0.5 mdeg) accuracies, it combined the robustness of a resolver with the performance of the best optical encoders. Despite its shortcomings, it found plenty of customers, from airborne infrared and radar systems, to telescopes, satellite communication antennae (SATCOM), machine tooling and low-pressure vacuum chambers.

SSI Hardware

SSI hardware is fairly simple. Just use any RS-422 transceiver to generate the differential signals from/to the microcontroller port pins. Keep reading to learn about the different implementations of SSI hardware.

Dynamic Inclinometers

For applications where sudden movements, shocks, and vibrations are likely to be encountered, it is important to have sensors with fast response and a clean signal output. POSITAL’s dynamic inclinometers combine two measurement principles using two different MEMS sensors: a 3D acceleration sensor and a 3D gyroscope.