The Problem
This company used a custom incremental encoder in one of their wafer alignment systems. Their supplier decided to discontinue their encoder, however, and the unit offered as an alternative would not fit the application’s space constraints and cost requirements. Mike, a member of their technical staff, was tasked with finding a replacement.
In addition to cost and size restraints, the replacement encoder had to be backwards-compatible to the base of installed equipment already in the field. With a production run of machines slated in the near future and a rapidly approaching cut-off date for supply of the encoder, they needed to find a solution fast.
The Solution
Mike contacted Encoder Products Company and outlined their requirements. EPC’s Applications Engineers quickly determined that the Model 260 was the right encoder for the job.
With a low 1.19” profile, the Model 260 encoder was small enough to fit the application, and economical enough to become their replacement encoder. To accommodate the need for backward-compatibility, EPC incorporated a non-standard flex mount, a custom high-flex cable and a customer-specified connector.
The company ordered some advance test units, with the new encoders from EPC on-schedule to be available well in advance of their production run.
On the day the test units were to be assembled at EPC, however, Mike’s technical team discovered a potential show-stopper: a signal compatibility issue between the PCB in their equipment and the EPC output chip. They placed a hold on the test units and held a technical consultation with EPC’s engineering team.
EPC quickly selected an appropriate alternative line driver chip, and developed a custom PCB in the encoder that met their requirements. In light of the tight deadline, EPC expedited the development of the custom PCBs and shipped the newly configured test units just three days later.
“I was amazed we were able to get an exact match with the encoder we had been buying, and in such a short time,” said Mike. “EPC was very responsive in addressing the technical issue that arose late in the game.”
After the company’s qualification tests, the new custom Model 260 units from EPC were cleared for production. “The encoders are working great. We’re very pleased and we’re looking to incorporate them into some newly designed systems as well,” reported Mike.
