Difference Between Solid And Hollow Shaft Rotary Encoders

Rotary encoders can vary widely on different metrics, such as incremental or absolute rotary encoders, magnetic or optical encoders, and so on. However, the method of mounting these encoders remains the same in most cases. The rotary encoder is mounted to the motor, whose speed and position are measured by means of a shaft. There are two basic ways to achieve this mounting: solid shaft and hollow shaft mounting. This blog will explore the difference between the two shaft encoders.

What Is A Solid Shaft Rotary Encoder?

In this instance, the encoder has a solid shaft that is attached to the motor. A flexible coupling and an external flange are used to achieve this secure attachment. However, there are some inherent issues with this design. The main issue is that due to the presence of the coupling and flange, the size of the encoder is increased, making it not fit for use in applications with spatial constraints. Furthermore, solid shaft rotary encoders are also prone to misalignment. This is where hollow shaft encoders are used to counteract these issues.

What Is A Hollow Shaft Rotary Encoder?

As the name suggests, a hollow shaft rotary encoder doesn’t have a solid shaft. Instead, it can be fitted on the shaft of the motor itself. It is attached securely to the motor shaft with the help of a clamp and a flexible tether. This has numerous advantages. Firstly, the design ensures that there are no external components to unnecessarily increase its size. Secondly, due to the flexible tether and clamp, it is much easier to absorb shocks and vibrations from the motor, making it less likely to have misalignment.

Due to these benefits, hollow shaft rotary encoders have emerged as one of the most common varieties of encoders for heavy-duty industrial applications. Walker Machinery offers a wide range of hollow shaft encoders for different applications such as machine tools, printing machines, elevator operation and more. We also offer an impressive range of Heidenhain linear encoders, incremental and absolute rotary encoders, angle encoders, DRO units and much more. For more details, contact us at 905-876-0890 today.