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Robotics & Automation vocabulary · Sensors, Motors and Actuators

Encoder

Meaning in robotics & automation, with examples

/ɪnˈkoʊdər/nounCommon term

In robotics & automation, encoder means: A sensor mounted on a motor or shaft that measures rotation and sends position and speed information to the drive or controller.

In Turkish: enkoder, kodlayıcı, döner kodlayıcı

How it is used

Common in motion control and maintenance. Incremental encoders count pulses from a reference point; absolute encoders know their position even after power off. You talk about encoder resolution, counts or pulses and encoder faults.

Example sentences

  1. After we replaced the encoder, we had to calibrate the axis again.

  2. An absolute encoder keeps its position, so the machine doesn't need homing after a power cut.

Common collocations

  • absolute encoder
  • incremental encoder
  • encoder resolution
  • encoder cable
  • encoder fault
  • servo motorAn electric motor with a built-in position sensor, usually an encoder, so that a drive can control its position, speed and torque very precisely. Robot joints are normally moved by servo motors.
  • feedbackInformation about the actual output of a system, such as the measured position or speed, that is sent back to the controller so it can correct any difference from the target.
  • sensorA device that detects a physical quantity or an event, such as position, distance, force, temperature or the presence of a part, and turns it into a signal a controller can read.
  • home positionA safe, known starting position that a robot or machine returns to before starting a cycle, after a stop or before being switched off.
  • calibrateTo adjust or measure a robot, sensor or instrument against a known reference so that its readings or positions are correct.

More terms: Sensors, Motors and Actuators

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