Encoder

Incremental & Absolute Encoders:
Whats the Best Solution for Your Application?

There are many factors you need to take into account when selecting
the right encoder for your application. How do you choose between
Incremental and Absolute encoders?
Absolute Encoder
vs.
Incremental Encoder
written/edited by Joel Jacobs, Applications Engineering
Incremental and Absolute Encoders: Whats the Best Solution for Your Application?
ncoders provide feedback for a wide range of motion tasks from positioning a patient in an MRI machine
to bottling beverages at 300 units per minute. When it comes to specifying an encoder, users must make
decisions about a number of key characteristics. Are they tracking linear or rotary motion? Should they use
optical or magnetic technology? And, perhaps most essential to the success of the application, should they
choose an incremental or an absolute encoder? Even when incremental and absolute encoders are based on the same
sensing mechanism, the two deliver very different performance. Building a successful system requires understanding
the trade-offs involved and making the right choice between the two.
As the name suggests, an absolute encoder maintains

a record of its position within some absolute coordinate system, whereas an incremental encoder outputs
incremental changes from a pre-defined home position. As a result, an incremental encoder requires
additional electronics (typically a PLC, counter, or
drive) to count pulses and convert the data into speed
or motion, while an absolute encoder produces digital
words identifying absolute location. Not surprisingly,
incremental encoders are typically better suited to
simpler, lower performance applications, while absolute encoders are most often used in more complex,
mission-critical applications with higher speed and
position control requirements. The correct choice of
output type depends on the application.
Incremental encoders
When an incremental encoder moves, it generates a
stream of binary pulses proportional to the rotation of
the shaft (rotary encoder) or distance traveled (linear
encoder). In the case of an optical design, a patterned
disc or linear strip passing between an LED and a
photosensor alternately passes or blocks the beam, producing an analog signal; additional circuitry, often in
the form of an onboard ASIC, converts this signal to
a square wave. Magnetic encoder designs can be based
on any one of a variety of mechanisms but typically
involve rotating a magnetic field to generate a voltage
pulse or a change in resistance that can be converted

into a pulse.
Single-channel incremental encoders feature a single
stream of output pulses. As a result, they can only
provide limited information. Based on the resolution
of the encoderi.e., the number of pulses per revolution in a rotary design or millimeters/inches of travel
in a linear designthe external electronics can count
pulses to calculate speed, or track offset relative to
some reference coordinate (home), which can be used
to determine position. Single-channel designs provide
good solutions for applications like single-direction
conveyor systems.
Although they are simple, robust, and economical, single-channel incremental encoders have an important
limitationthey cannot be used to determine direction of motion. That task requires more input, typically from a dual-channel design that generates output
over two distinct channels (A and B), which are
90 out of phase with each other. These dual-channel
designs are sometimes called quadrature encoders due
to the four rise and fall points of their signal output.
The direction of travel determines which channel goes
high first, allowing the processor to easily monitor
direction of motion (see figure 1). Resolution can be
increased by as much as a factor of four by triggering
DYNAPAR Experts in Rotary Feedback Solutions 1675 N. Delany Rd. Gurnee, IL 60031 P: 1.800.873.8731
F: 1.847-662.6633 E: [email protected] www.dynapar.com
.................................................................................................................................................................................... page 2
on the leading and/or trailing edge of the pulses for one
or both channels.
Figure 1: A quadrature encoder generates two pulse streams

that are 90 out of phase with one another. As a result, the
system can determine directionality by monitoring which channel leads in phase. Triggering off of the leading and or trailing
edges of the pulses can increase resolution
by up to four times.
Quadrature encoders provide robust solutions for challenging applications. In a high-vibration environment,
for example, a single-channel encoder might misinterpret the pulse stream generated by an axis dithering
about a set point as a real displacement. A quadrature
encoder would be able to recognize the changes in direction and ignore the pulse stream or filter it out as noise.
Incremental encoders can also include an additional
channel known as the index, or Z channel. This track
causes the encoder to generate a pulse once per revolution for a rotary encoder or at a specific position for a
linear encoder (see figure 2). The Z channel can be used
as a tool to identify a specific location at startup. For
high-speed applications, it can be an easy way to indicate a single revolution, which can be processed with
time to yield RPMs.
Figure 2: Code disc for an optical quadrature encoder

shows the inner ring for the Z channel, which generates
a single pulse per revolution. The outer bands
correspond to the A channel and B channel; notice
that they are offset by 90.
Applications suitable for incremental encoders are

generally simple, only requiring a direct connection
between the encoder and the control device regardless of
whether it is a counter, PLC, or drive.
What to know before you choose:
1. What is the complexity level of your application?
2. What parameters (speed, position, direction) do you
need to control for?
3. Can your application afford to rehome if powered down?
4. What performance level (in pulses-per-revolution) does
your application require?
5. How will the encoder communicate with other
electronics in the system? Does your application require
communication via one of several protocols?
6. How cost sensitive is your application?
Absolute encoders
The biggest drawback to incremental encoders is that
when the system is powered down, for example during
a temporary power outage, it does not track any incremental change output by the encoder. As a result,
.................................................................................................................................................................................... page 3
in order to provide accurate position data, an incremental encoder must be rehomed at startup. For an
application like a converting machine that might be
shut down every night and restarted every morning,
this is not a problem. In the case of an automotive
assembly robot arm that loses power while welding
seat brackets inside a vehicle, rehoming could cause
catastrophic damage to both product and robot arm
alike. Absolute encoders provide an effective alternative suitable for high-reliability applications.
Unlike an incremental encoder, an absolute encoder
does not generate output as pulses but as digital words
that identify its position as a static reference point
within an absolute coordinate system. As a result, even
in the event of power outage, an absolute encoder
maintains record of its absolute position. Upon restart,
the system can resume motion immediately, without
rehoming.
An absolute rotary encoder features a code disc attached to the shaft and a fixed mask that allows the
system to essentially create a unique binary identifier for each point of travel (linear versions operate
analogously, but for the sake of simplicity, well focus
on rotary versions here). As the code disc rotates atop
the fixed mask, the system periodically reads out the
identifier, outputting it as a multi-bit digital word.
The associated controller or drive polls the encoder to
capture position data that it can use directly or process
into velocity information.
In the case of an optical encoder, the fixed mask
features alternating transparent and opaque regions.
Similarly, the code disc is patterned with transparent
and opaque regions to define a set of rings (tracks) and
periodic radial zones on those tracks (see figure 3);
each track is read out by a different LED/photosensor pair. The code disc sits atop the fixed mask, which
typically sits atop a sensing ASIC that contains the
detector array and associated electronics. As the code
disc turns, its transparent regions periodically overlay
the transparent regions on the fixed mask, allowing the
optical signal to pass through to the detector to gener-
ate a pulse. Each track on the code disc corresponds

to a specific bit in the output; the number of tracks n
generates 2n radial positions. Many manufacturers have
a base single turn resolution of 4096 (12bits) positions
per rotation. More advanced devices will be able to
resolve positions all the way up to 4,194,304 unique
positions (22bits).
Coordinated motion applications will often utilize a
multi-turn encoder that can track multiple rotations
of the shaft. This can eliminate a system from having
to home to limit switches such as in a CNC or similar
XY stages. In a multi-turn encoder a secondary disk (or
discs) are geared to the primary single turn code disc
and track the number of rotations. Each time the primary disk completes a revolution, the secondary disk indexes. This design thus assigns a unique coordinate for
each shaft position corresponding to each revelation of
the indexed shaft up to 4096 revolutions. This may be
referred to as a 24bit encoder. Having 12bits of single
turn information and 12bits of multi-turn information.
Figure 3: Code disc for an optical absolute encoder features one
track for each bit of resolution. The number of bits n (2n)
corresponds to 2n radial positions.
Applications that use absolute encoders are usually more

complex, requiring both hardware and software implementation in order to interact with other electronics in
the system (PLC, drive, etc.).
.................................................................................................................................................................................... page 4
Incremental versus Absolute

There is no one right encoder type, only the type determined by the requirements of the application (see table).
Incremental encoders are simple to integrate and easy to maintain. For less complex applications in which cost is
a major concern, an incremental encoder might be the best choice. They are frequently used for speed or velocity
monitoring, for example coordinating the line speed of conveyors in a warehouse or mail-sorting facility. Whether
the appropriate incremental encoder is a single-channel or a quadrature design depends upon whether the application is direction sensitive.
As we discussed, absolute encoders are a good fit for safety-critical applications that cannot allow rehoming, like
high performance CNC machines. They also work well
for cases in which rehoming would add significant time
or cost to a task. If the power fails on a DNA sequencer
in the middle of a multi-day analysis, for example, the
system needs to be able to reliably restart without jettisoning a carefully cultivated sample or compromising
results. An absolute encoder would allow operations to
be seamlessly resumed when power returns.
Because they output data as a digital word, absolute
encoders are compatible with a range of communications
protocols and busses, including BiSS, synchronous

serial interface (SSI), DeviceNet, Profibus, Modbus,
CANopen, IO-Link and a number of Ethernet-based
protocols.
The best positioning components in the world are
useless without proper feedback. Depending on the
application, an encoder can provide an ideal solutionwhen properly selected. OEMs and machine
builders need to understand the trade-offs between
incremental and absolute encoders, and compare them
to the requirements of their application. By doing this,
they can build a product or system that delivers the
desired performance and lifetime, on schedule and on
budget.
Dynapar offers the worlds broadest range of encoders, resolvers and accessories for motion feedback control. For 60 years,
the four brands of Dynapar have been providing innovative, customized system solutions for virtually any heavy, industrial,
servo, or light-duty application. Innovative products, designed your way, delivered when you need themthats the Dynapar
difference. Go to www.dynapar.com for more information.

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Incremental & Absolute Encoders:

Whats the Best Solution for Your Application?

written/edited by Joel Jacobs, Applications Engineering

As the name suggests, an absolute encoder maintains

pulse or a change in resistance that can be converted

Figure 1: A quadrature encoder generates two pulse streams

Figure 2: Code disc for an optical quadrature encoder

Applications suitable for incremental encoders are

ate a pulse. Each track on the code disc corresponds

Applications that use absolute encoders are usually more

Incremental versus Absolute

protocols and busses, including BiSS, synchronous

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