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. If you like to see the available options, before they are made available here, email me:

What is it?

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.

Why did you make it?

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.

What makes it special?

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.

• Its built around a 32-bit 72Mhz STM32 microcontroller.
• It has 64bit counter size for the pulses (for really long actuators).
• Supports Simple encoders with A-B outputs,
• Or encoders with differential output A+ A- B+ B-.
• The analog output 0-5v is 12-bit resolution (4096 positions).
• It has inputs for limit switches for calibration of the range.
• It can relay the limit switches to outputs for activating external relay modules to cut power on motor (over-travel protection).
• Has an output to indicate that the Encoder2Position module is in calibration mode.

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

Firmware information

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: