#14 - Position and Speed Measurement

📍 How to measure position and speed in an industrial environment?
In industrial applications, position is most commonly measured using encoders.
Both linear and rotary types exist, and incremental encoders are the most widespread.

👉 To obtain absolute position data, the system must be homed: the mechanics are moved to a known reference point, and from there the controller calculates relative displacement.

🔧 Incremental encoder signal forms
Position data is typically processed using PC-based counter cards.
Proper noise protection is crucial, as even a single false edge can lead to accumulated position errors.

💡 There are also encoders with integrated processing and absolute encoders, which provide position information immediately, without homing, even right after power-up.

📈 Speed measurement
Speed is simply the rate of change in position, so the same encoder signal is often used for it.
– Minimum measurable speed: limited by resolution
– Maximum measurable speed: limited by sampling rate and processing speed 

Download PositionAndSpeedMeas.pdf