Typical applications are controlling the position of swivelling heads, spindles and rotary tables on tool and gear grinders, machining centres and CNC lathes.
ECA 4000 encoders are available in a spread of external drum diameters from 104 to 560 mm. Each ring size has a unique line count around the outside, up to 44,000 in the case of the largest model, for which an accuracy of ±1.5 arc-seconds is specified for the twin-track graduations. Heidenhain says that fast reaction times make the encoders suitable for use with direct-drive motors.
Heidenhain ECA 4000 ring encoders offer absolute feedback
Precise feedback of angular motion, small dimensions, non-contact operation (frictionless) and resistance to contamination, despite having an optical grating, are said to be the main benefits of the new ECA 4000 absolute ring encoder range from Heidenhain. Compared to the previous generation of incremental ring encoder models, the latest ECA variant offers 60% smaller position error and 45% faster operation.
