MICRONOR’s new MR314 ZapFREE high resolution fibre optic rotary encoder, available in Australia from Quality In Control , is designed for large drive and rotary shaft applications requiring EMI immunity, higher resolution (1024ppr) and the mounting convenience of a traditional hollow shaft encoder package.
There are no integral electronics within the encoder housing and the all-optical design requires just a single optical fibre connection – the utmost in simplicity, reliability and ease of installation.
The MR314’s totally passive design outperforms conventional optical and magnetic rotary encoders over a wide range of harsh and/or hazardous environments:
* Wide extended operating range (-60°C/+150°C);
* Outdistances copper cable;
* Intrinsically safe and ATEX-compliant;
* Immune to EMI/RFI and ground loops;
* Unaffected by high magnetic fields; and
* Radiation resistant.
Special versions can be easily engineered for thermal-vac environments.
The “passive” MR314 optically links to the “active” MR310 ZapFREE remote encoder interface (REI) module via a single 62.5/125 multimode fibre link – up to 1000 metres (3280 feet) away.
With its convenient DIN-rail mount, the MR310 module is co-located with the PLC or other system interface electronics where power supply connections and conventional electrical interface connections are easily made.
The module offers a wide range of standard interfaces: direct quadrature outputs (both open collector and line driver), separate multiplier/divider quadrature outputs, two fully-programmable analog outputs (4-20mA and +/-10V), and PC-friendly RS232/RS422/RS485 serial interface.
In addition to the MR312/MR314 native incremental encoder mode of operation, the MR310’s firmware also allows the encoder to emulate a multiturn absolute encoder.
The internal 24-bit counter can track up to 32,768 revolutions of the 1024ppr MR314 or 23,201 revolutions of the 360ppr MR312. Either a software command or TTL signal input to the MR310 establishes a calibration or zero reference (reseting the counter to zero).
An external battery back-up is required to maintain operation during power interruptions. A combination power supply/back-up battery trickle charger is available. Capacity of the battery determines the amount of back-up time.
Like the original MR312 shafted fibre optic encoder, all MR3XX series encoders utilise telecom-proven WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) technology by assigning each internal optical path (A or B) to a wavelength so that all wavelengths/paths can be combined onto a single fibre.
For custom applications, the MR310 firmware can be enhanced with additional functions and modes of operation to offload previous forms of remote processing for more efficient system operation. Special size shaft bores can also be accommodated.