"#$%&'() *+,%-). */%&'(0%+1 23.)) "#$%&'() "-/4+(45)$ 6%.

7*8$

!"# #%&'()*&+ &, -./&'()# #+0&1#2/ "-/ .##+
12*%#+ .3 0"-+4*+4 -55'*0-)*&+ 1#6-+1/ -+1 +#7
0&66(+*0-)*&+ 5'-),&26/8 !&1-39 -1%-+0#6#+)/
*+ "*4"'3 52#0*/# 5&/*)*&+*+4 0-5-.*'*)*#/ -+1
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<=>/ -+1 #+1 (/#2/ -'*:#8


!"# ?./&'()# =+0&1#2/ =%&'()*&+

ln Lhe pasL, Lhe Lype of absoluLe encoders on Lhe markeL was llmlLed, Lhe resoluLlon was low and Lhe prlce was
hlgh. 1he ouLpuL slgnal from absoluLe encoders conslsLed of parallel wlres for each daLa blL. lor Lhe flrsL
encoders on Lhe markeL, resoluLlons were llmlLed by Lhe
Lechnology of Lhe code dlscs. 1herefore, Lhe number of
wlres ln a cable of Lhls sysLem was noL an lssue.
As encoder Lechnology lmproved, Lhe resoluLlon
drasLlcally lncreased, allowlng for lncredlbly preclse
measuremenL. When lmplemenLed ln Lhe LradlLlonal
parallel ouLpuL meLhodology, Lhese hlgher resoluLlons
requlre more wlres ln Lhe cable. Several lssues are lmmedlaLely evldenL ln Lhls scenarlo, lncludlng cable cosLs,
lnsLallaLlon Llme and opporLunlLles for errors durlng commlsslonlng. ln addlLlon, Lhe lnformaLlon from Lhe
encoder ls llmlLed Lo poslLlonal lnformaLlon. 1yplcally, no dlagnosLlcs or conflguraLlon capablllLles are posslble
on Lhese encoders. Lach of Lhese lssues grows exponenLlally as Lhe need for resoluLlon, poslLlonlng accuracy,
and ulLlmaLely appllcaLlon conLrol lncreases.


ln 1984, SLegmann CmbP developed Synchronous Serlal lnLerface" (SSl) communlcaLlon for absoluLe encoder
poslLlon daLa. 1hls advancemenL used a slmpler deslgn for daLa Lransmlsslon. Powever, Lhe conLroller
hardware became more complex compared wlLh a parallel ouLpuL. A clock pulse Lraln from a SSl conLroller was
senL Lo Lhe lnpuL of Lhe encoder (Lhe number of clock pulses depended on Lhe number of blLs Lo be LransmlLLed).
Cne blL of encoder daLa was LransmlLLed Lo Lhe conLroller for each clock pulse recelved.
ln Lhls deslgn, lnsLead of a separaLe wlre for
each daLa blL, only Lwo palrs of wlres were
used: one for Lhe clock slgnals from Lhe
conLroller, and oLher for daLa Lransmlsslon
from Lhe encoder.
1he daLa was noL llmlLed Lo a speclflc number
of words, and number of blLs used has no
affecL on Lhe connecLlvlLy hardware, buL lL does need Lo maLch Lhe speclflc SSl conLroller. 1he serlal
communlcaLlon greaLly reduced Lhe wlrlng LhaL was once requlred for poslLlon daLa, cuLLlng cosLs and
lnsLallaLlon Llme.
ln addlLlon Lo cuLLlng cable cosLs, Lhe ablllLy Lo add daLa blLs wlLhouL addlng more cabllng hardware allowed
Lransmlsslon error daLe along wlLh Lhe normal poslLlon lnformaLlon. ln general, Lhere ls no slave recognlLlon ln
an SSl neLwork from Lhe masLer. Lrror blLs can ensure LhaL a slave devlce ls connecLed and worklng properly -
someLhlng LhaL was noL lncluded ln a parallel neLwork.
rogrammablllLy was also lnLroduced on some SSl encoders, allowlng for conflguraLlon LhaL was prevlously noL
posslble. 1hese conflguraLlon seLLlngs lncluded changlng Lhe resoluLlon based on Lhe speclflc appllcaLlon need,
seLLlng Lhe zero or offseL poslLlon elecLrlcally reduclng Lhe lnsLallaLlon Llme on a machlne, and Lhe ablllLy Lo
consolldaLe a varleLy of encoders Lo one parL number.
8ecause of lLs flexlblllLy and durablllLy ln an lndusLrlal seLLlng, SSl ls an lndusLry sLandard Loday and can be
applled ln a wlde range of appllcaLlons. Some Lyplcal appllcaLlons lnclude monlLorlng Lhe poslLlon of a crane
wlnch and Lhe angle of a roboLlc arm, deLermlnlng Lhe dlrecLlon of an ACv sLeerlng wheel, and many oLhers.
@+)2&1(0)*&+ &, )"# A*#'1.(/ *+ @+1(/)2*-' =+0&1#2/
SSl ls llmlLed Lo a masLer/slave archlLecLure or polnL Lo polnL sysLem, and more complex machlnes and faclllLles
beneflL from an organlzed sysLem uslng LCs, PMls, and neLworks lnsLead of a separaLe masLer for each encoder
or oLher devlce. lndusLrlal fleldbuses or neLworks were lnLroduced Lo meeL Lhls need. AL Mlnneapolls-based
SlCk, Lhe Lhree mosL common fleldbus proLocols, uevlceneL, roflbus, and CAnopen, were added Lo Lhe A1M60
absoluLe encoder llne, launched ln Lhe 1990s. ln Lhese envlronmenLs, a fleldbus proLocol allows Lhe user Lo
connecL and group encoders and oLher devlces Lo one or more conLrollers or neLwork lnLerface cards.
1he fleldbus proLocols are organlzed lnLo neLwork Lopologles llke Lree, sLar, llne, and branch. 8ecause devlces
can be connecLed uslng Lhese dlfferlng sLrucLures, Lhe amounL and lengLh of cabllng requlred decreases as same
seL of cables are shared beLween devlces.
ln addlLlon Lo organlzlng and grouplng encoders and oLher devlces, Lhe amounL of daLa from Lhe encoder has
been expanded, maklng each encoder smarLer. lnsLead of error blLs, speclflc dlagnosLlc aLLrlbuLes can be
lnLegraLed lnLo Lhe encoders. 1he A1M60s, for example, offer LemperaLure dlagnosLlcs and acceleraLlon values,
glvlng more lnformaLlon Lo Lhe user, cuLLlng LroubleshooLlng and downLlme.
1he conflguraLlon or seLLlngs of Lhe encoder can be seL from a rogrammlng Loglc ConLroller (LC), or oLher
cenLral conLrol sysLems. 1he resoluLlon, for example, ls one of Lhe conflguraLlons LhaL can be programmed. 1hls
reduces Lhe varlanLs of encoders necessary ln a machlne or a sLock room, consolldaLlng Lhe numerous
resoluLlons and oLher aLLrlbuLes Lo one encoder parL number.
>&1#2+ B#)7&2:/ (/*+4 @+1(/)2*-' =)"#2+#)

1he developmenL of all of Lhe above-menLloned proLocols has led Lo Lhe lnLroducLlon of a new generaLlon of
lndusLrlal LLherneL Lechnology. 1radlLlonally, fleldbuses use a layered neLwork. Cne layer wlLh sensors and
slmple l/C modules ln Lhe conLrol neLwork, a second layer of conLrollers, PMls ln a fleldbus or devlce level
neLwork, and Lhe Lhlrd layer ls Lyplcally LLherneL ln Lhe corporaLe neLwork. 1he Lrend ln facLory auLomaLlon ls Lo
lnLegraLe all levels of a neLwork lnLo a slngle LLherneL-based sysLem.

C#+#,*)/ &, (/*+4 @+1(/)2*-' =)"#2+#)
lndusLrlal LLherneL bullds on Lhe baslc beneflLs of fleldbus sysLems, and also expands Lhe amounL of lnformaLlon
from Lhe encoder. ln some cases, lL lncreases speed, and can slmpllfy a neLwork lnsLallaLlon.
9045+%$) :.%#&);$ #)6%.) (3)< %,,'.
ln general, lndusLrlal LLherneL lnLerfaces allow for even more daLa flexlblllLy Lhan before. SlCk's
AlS/AlM60 encoders wlLh LLherneL/l, LLherCA1, and 8CllnL1, for example, offer more dlagnosLlc
funcLlons Lhan any oLher encoder currenLly on Lhe markeL. uaLa, such as LemperaLure, veloclLy, and
acceleraLlon can obvlously glve lnformaLlon regardlng Lhe encoder lLself, buL Lhese dlagnosLlc aLLrlbuLes
also allow users Lo look beyond Lhe encoder for Lhe flrsL Llme. 1he AlS/AlM60s also keep Lrack of
runLlme, and number of revoluLlons. lf a machlne needs olllng or upkeep afLer a cerLaln amounL of Llme,
Lhe runLlme aLLrlbuLe allows for more conslsLenL malnLenance, decreaslng Lhe llkellhood of unexpecLed
downLlme.
=+,.)4$) $:))- 6%. ;%(0%+ 4::&0,4(0%+$
uslng lndusLrlal LLherneL can also lncrease Lhe speed of Lhe sysLem ln some cases. Cne poLenLlal
challenge ln movlng Lo an LLherneL-based sysLem ls Lhe use of 1C ln a Llme-crlLlcal moLlon conLrol
appllcaLlon. 1C ensures rellable daLa Lransmlsslon by esLabllshlng connecLlons before sendlng daLa
packeLs. 1hls greaLly mlnlmlzes Lhe rlsk of dropped or corrupLed packeLs, buL wlLhouL Llme sLamplng, Lhe
overhead does noL make Lhls Lransmlsslon ldeal for real-Llme appllcaLlons.
1he LLherCA1 proLocol found ln Lhe AlS/AlM60 famlly can be Lhe soluLlon ln moLlon conLrol appllcaLlon.
1hese encoders offer very fasL cycle Llmes and deLermlnlsLlc daLa allowlng for real Llme daLa Lransfers.
1he ablllLy Lo use real-Llme daLa ls perfecL for moLlon conLrol appllcaLlons, where preclse moLlon
poslLlonlng ls crlLlcal.
>0;:&06< <%'. +)(?%.@ A 4+- @)): 0( .'++0+5 ?0(3 +)(?%.@ .)-'+-4+,<
neLwork lnsLallaLlon can also be slmpllfled uslng lndusLrlal LLherneL. 1he LLherneL base used for all of
Lhe dlfferenL proLocol varlaLlons work wlLh sLandard LLherneL componenLs llke rouLers, swlLches, hubs,
and access polnLs. 1he AlS/AlM60s, wlLh an lndusLrlal LLherneL lnLerface, all use embedded swlLches,
whlch lncrease Lhe varlaLlons for Lopologles whlle reduclng exLernal swlLchlng componenLs for llne or
rlng seLups. 1he LLherneL/l AlS/AlM60s are equlpped wlLh devlce level rlng (uL8) capablllLy for use ln
lndusLrlal conLrol appllcaLlons wlLh a rlng Lopology. uL8-enabled devlces greaLly reduce Lhe need for
exLernal swlLchlng componenLs, maklng Lhe sysLem cosL less Lo lmplemenL and are faulL-LoleranL. ln a
moLlon monlLorlng sysLem, lf an encoder deLecLs a break ln Lhe communlcaLlons rlng, and ls uL8
enabled, Lhe uL8 funcLlonallLy wlLhln Lhe devlce provldes an alLernaLe paLh for Lhe daLa Lo Lravel,
allowlng Lhe neLwork Lo recover qulckly and lncur llLLle or no downLlme.



D&+0'(/*&+
1he evoluLlon of absoluLe encoders has creaLed many process lmprovemenLs ln an lndusLrlal seLLlng. As Lhe
number of machlne bullders embraclng absoluLe measuremenL encoders grows, Lhe evolvlng encoder
Lechnology advances preclse poslLlonlng capablllLles, saves cosLs, slmpllfles sysLems, and lncreases flexlblllLy.
1hese beneflLs along wlLh easy lnLegraLlon lnLo Lhe end user's conLrol neLwork, makes Lhese encoders ldeal for
OEMs.

lor more lnformaLlon, please conLacL Mandee LlberLy, Lncoder roducL SpeclallsL aL SlCk, lnc.
mandee.llberLy[slck.com, 1-800-323-7423, or vlslL www.slckusa.com