Easy decode a Quadrature Optical Encoder to Absolute Position 0-5v output
Designed by Thanos Motion Electronics LLC in United States of America
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The seller may be offering an improved version or it may be hanging out on the beach, enjoying the retired life.
Important Notice I'm shifting to other better control methods for servomotor solution, with new models for AMC specifically designed for Servo control, either for generic servos or specific servos. I…
Read More…I'm shifting to other better control methods for servomotor solution, with new models for AMC specifically designed for Servo control, either for generic servos or specific servos. If you like to see the available options, before they are made available here, email me: 
It a module that can be used to easy an decode quadrature encoder to actual position 0-5v to replace a potentiometer. This is particular useful in motion simulators with linear actuators that have motors equipped with such optical encoders.
Most of these optical quadrature encoders have very high resolution (2500CPR) that makes it nearly impossible to directly use in motion controllers as they require too much processing power to track and count all the pulses and convert them to something useful. This requires lots of Interrupts, that can overload any traditional microcontroller and block it from doing other functions. The STM32 microcontroller used has hardware support for capturing these pulses and it runs on 72Mhz making it perfect for this job.
There is nothing like it in the market, and I had to make it to be able to interface industrial linear servomotors with my AMC1280USB motion controller that otherwise would be impossible.
Some videos that explains its operation:
Encoder2Position module: limit switches automation test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBxzBvBxZSA
Encoder2Position module details
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnxCDRerY0E
Encoder2Position prototype power up test on clearpath servo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFs96jrpHsY
The Encoder2Position module has a USB port that can be used for monitoring the functions (calibration progress - limit switches pressed - encoder position) with a simple terminal interface. It creates a custom COM port that can be used for that. The USB port can be also used to upgrade the firmware in the future
The latest firmware and instructions on how to update it can be located here:
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