Angle Encoder from Heidenhain

Heidenhain Corp.

ERP 4080 and ERP 8080 modular angle encoders from Heidenhain Corp., Schaumburg, IL, use a new scanning method with a very small scanning area illuminated by a spot laser, allowing circular scales with a 2 µm grating period to supply output signals with a signal period of ~1 µm. The ERP 4080 has a 44 mm o.d., an 8 mm i.d., and 131,072 signal periods. The ERP 8080 has a 108 mm o.d., a 50 mm i.d., and 360,000 signal periods. The devices also have large mounting tolerances. Applications include wafer positioning and production and testing of storage media.