To avoid having to route signal and power supply cables for sensors through the entire machine to the control unit, several sensors are usually combined in an I/O box, which converts the analog signals into digital signals and sends them on to the controller. Wachendorff has now integrated the I/O technology into the encoder: The WDGA-I/O absolute rotary encoder with EnDra technology offers all the functionalities of the rotary encoder profile for CANopen via a CAN node and the information of digital or analog values via another node. All functions of the encoder work in the range between -40 and +85 °C. The design of the encoder with protection class IP65 on the bearing (optional IP67), IP67 on the rear and permissible axial and radial bearing loads of 220 N (optional 400 N) enable it to be used in harsh industrial applications as well as in stationary or mobile machines.
The integration of a maximum of three multifunctional inputs and outputs - each optionally digital and/or analog (one four-wire, two two-wire) for the connection of, for example, thermocouples, PT100, strain gauges, 0/4 to 20 mA or ±10 V(DC) - results in a large number of possible combinations. The I/O ports are configured and scaled by software for the respective sensor type.