The incremental hollow-shaft encoders of the DFS60 series leave nothing to be desired in terms of installation. Starting immediately, the position sensors are available in every mechanical design common in industry. That certainly constitutes one reason why in the USA, the encoder received the “Product of the year” award in PLANT ENGINEERING magazine.

The DFS60s are rotary position sensors for motors used in machine and plant construction. With one face mount and one servo flange for solid shafts, as well as blind hollow shafts and through hollow shafts with five metric and three non-metric diameters, it covers all of the common installation scenarios.

Suitable for harsh ambient conditions

The DFS60 incremental hollow-shaft encoder from SICK can be realized with all line numbers from 1 to 65,536 and displays its strengths especially in the harsh operating environment of machine and plant construction. The DFS60 achieves extreme robustness, coupled with utmost precision, by means of the IP 65 housing as well as the use of a metal code disk. By comparison to code disks made of glass, these are considerably more robust while offering the same resolution; as compared to code disks made of plastic, they are at least as durable but have significantly better resolution and temperature resistance. The operating temperature range extends from -20 °C to +100 °C.

Very installation-friendly

The universal cable outlet – for radial or axial alignment – reduces type variety and facilitates mounting in confined spaces. Another feature favoring easy installation is the clamping ring with only one TORX screw for mounting the DFS60. The voltage level of the TTL and, respectively, HTL interfaces can be programmed individually.

No eccentricity effects, no leakage currents

While keeping the 60-mm housing customary in the market as regards the shaft bearing design, the distance of the two ball bearings of the shaft was increased to such an extent that the DFS60 now features unprecedented freedom from vibrations and optimum concentric running even at maximum operating speeds. Thus, the recorded measuring values are not affected by mechanical eccentricity and, respectively, tolerance effects that other encoders display as fluctuations on the measurement curve. Another improvement relates to the insulation between the motor shaft and the encoder itself. It prevents leakage currents from the motor shaft from reaching the encoder bearing and from causing them to be damaged.