🚀 Redundant Absolute Position Encoders for Safety-Critical Systems: An Innovative Solution from FLUX! 🚀

[Erkan Teskancan]

FLUX Offers Dual System in a Single Housing​

FLUX GmbH has introduced its new inductive angle encoder, the IND-MAX DUAL, designed to provide redundant position feedback crucial for space and robotic applications. This integrated dual-system encoder combines reliability and minimal footprint in safety-critical industrial automation, surgical robots, and aerospace systems.

Redundant Architecture and Hardware Design​

The IND-MAX DUAL integrates two completely independent measurement systems (including separate sensing components and electronics) into a single compact housing. This allows machine builders to implement redundant feedback architectures without the mechanical complexity and installation space issues associated with mounting two separate encoders. Available in outer diameters from 125 mm to 300 mm, this low-profile design features a large inner bore. The system offers absolute position resolution up to 23 bits, providing high-precision data acquisition for automated motion control systems.

Reliable Operation in Harsh Environments​

Operating in conditions of high shock or limited space requires robust physical housings and wide operating temperature tolerances. The integration of the independent dual system ensures uninterrupted operational reliability in applications where continuous position feedback is mandatory, such as surgical robots, autonomous platforms, and defense technologies. Absolute position systems generate deterministic angular values at startup, eliminating the need for mechanical referencing routines during power loss or system restarts.

Paul Tutzu, Managing Director of FLUX GmbH, stated, "With the new DUAL variant, we are meeting the demand for redundant position feedback by offering two independent encoder systems in a single compact housing."

Additional Information: Industrial Context and Competition​

In the industrial motion control market, absolute encoders are used to maintain deterministic position data without requiring referencing routines after power cycles. In safety-critical sectors subject to strict standards such as IEC 61508 (Functional Safety) or ISO 13849 (Machinery Safety), systems require redundant architecture to achieve the necessary Safety Integrity Levels (SILs).

FLUX competes with manufacturers such as Heidenhain, Celera Motion, and Renishaw in the high-precision encoder market. While standard redundancy is typically achieved by physically stacking two separate optical or magnetic encoders (which increases the axial length and mechanical complexity of the robotic joint), integrated dual-redundant inductive encoders combine two independent measurement channels in a single low-profile housing. Competitive comparisons in this hardware category focus on maximum digital resolution (typically between 17 and 24 bits for high-end applications), operating temperature limits, immunity to electromagnetic interference, and the ability to maintain absolute position tracking under high physical shock or vibration loads where traditional optical disks might break or fail.