Renishaw’s new AM4096 magnetic encoder IC takes proven on-axis encoder technology a step further with increased functionality and reduced costs. The OnAxis technology developed by Renishaw’s associate company RLS is used in many demanding motor and control applications where traditional encoder technologies might fail.
The AM4096 system on-chip magnetic encoder provides UVW outputs with 16 poles (8 pole pairs), incremental, absolute, linear (potentiometer), tacho generator and sinusoidal outputs. Resolution is to 12-bit (4096 steps per turn) with a programmable zero position. The AM4096 is a 3.3 V (or 5 V) low power device with a sleep mode for battery operation. It can be supplied pre-programmed or may be customer programmed with settings stored within its on chip EEPROM. The magnetic encoder is capable of high speed operation to 60,000 rpm and can withstand temperatures from -40°C to +125°C.
All of the sensor and processing electronics have been placed within the compact silicon design. The rotation of a simple north / south magnet is picked up by the AM4096’s sensor and provides absolute positional information output to an accuracy of better than 0.1 degrees.
Typical applications for the new magnetic encoder IC include commutation and high-speed motor control, position and velocity control, potentiometer replacement and optical encoder replacement.