Inmoco's new mercury range of encoders meets every resolution requirement, from micron to nanometer level

Citation

(2006), "Inmoco's new mercury range of encoders meets every resolution requirement, from micron to nanometer level", Sensor Review, Vol. 26 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sr.2006.08726dad.006

Inmoco's new mercury range of encoders meets every resolution requirement, from micron to nanometer level

Inmoco's new mercury range of encoders meets every resolution requirement, from micron to nanometer level

Keywords: Encoders

Inmoco is taking precision in servo and linear positioning systems to a new level with the introduction of the Mercury range of smart encoder systems from MicroE Systems. Offering linear resolutions in the range from 5mm to 5nm and rotary resolutions in the 6,600 CPR to 67.2 million CPR, the Mercury encoders are based on MicroE System's patented SmartPrecision electronics and PurePrecision™ optics technologies. This gives them the advantages of programmability, miniature sensor size, broad alignment tolerances for easy set- up, accuracy enhancement, optical index, plus an extremely wide range of operating resolutions and speeds (Plate 6).

Plate 6 Mercury sensors are half the height and one tenth the volume of other encoders

Key to the technology advantage of the Mercury range of encoders is PurePrecision™, an optical design that gives users flexibility, a high fidelity signal and a wide resolution range. PurePrecision uses the diffraction of reflected light to its advantage to create a sensor with a very shallow, very wide detection plane. The result of this is that Mercury sensors are half the height, 1/10 the volume and a fraction of the weight of other encoders. In addition, one sensor design works in both linear and rotary applications.

Another major benefit of PurePrecision optics, is that it gives Mercury encoder sensors an alignment tolerance advantage: they can be aligned in under 30s; and in many cases the MicroE sensor can be mounted to a reference surface and will operate without further adjustment.

Scalability is the third major advantage resulting from PurePrecision technology. Because their signal can be interpolated to extreme levels, Mercury encoders can meet every resolution requirement, from micron to nanometer level.

The Mercury encoder family includes twenty-one models, all of which are claimed to be smaller, faster and smarter than any other encoders on the market. This breadth of product range means that OEM engineers can select the encoder model that is just right for their application – programmable, digital, analogue and vacuum models – while enjoying the performance improvements only Mercury encoder systems can deliver.

For further information contact: Gerard Bush, Sales Application Engineer, INMOCO Limited, 4 Brunel Close, Drayton Fields, Daventry NN11 8RB. Tel: 01327 307600; Fax: 01327 300319. E-mail: gerardb@inmoco.co.uk