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Product innovations at the Hannover Messe 2014

Ethercat encoder from Posital Fraba
© Posital
Based on an FPGA solution from Altera, which also forms the basis for optical Ethernet Powerlink encoders, Posital presents optical encoders with Ethercat interface. These models provide data for positioning and speed control and guarantee short cycle times of up to 125 µs. Thanks to the distributed clock function, they can be used to synchronize axes with a deviation of <1 µs. The Ethercat encoders support cable redundancy, minimizing downtime in the event of a cable break: If special PLCs with two network cards are used, the failure is limited to one cycle. A rotary axis function allows users to implement applications with non-binary gear factors. Firmware updates can be carried out using standard configuration tools such as Twincat, with password protection allowing access to authorized personnel only. The single-turn sensor technology of the encoders provides a resolution of 16 bits per revolution. Up to 16,384 revolutions (14 bits) can also be recorded in multi-turn mode.
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