Renishaw Enclosed Optical Encoders

An enclosed optical encoder houses the encoder's electronics and optics within a sealed unit that is attached to a readhead body. Both the sealed optical unit and the encoder's scale are further protected within a sealed enclosure. This design provides high resistance to the ingress of liquids and solid debris contaminants. The enclosed linear encoder features an extruded enclosure with longitudinally attached interlocking lip seals and sealed end caps. The readhead body is joined to a sealed optical unit by a blade, which travels through the lip seals along the length of the encoder. Linear axis movement causes the readhead and optics to traverse the encoder's absolute scale (which is fixed to the inside of the enclosure), without mechanical contact. The encoder's scale features an absolute scale code of full-width contrasting lines, which is imaged via a lens onto a detector array inside the readhead. Linear position measurements, output in digital form, are compatible with a range of industry standard serial communications protocols.