NTN Corporation has developed “Multi Track Magnetic Encoder Integrated Rolling Bearing” with excellent environmental resistance and high-resolution angle detection. The bearing unit integrates bearing with magnetic type encoder, and contributes to improvement of performance, downsizing/lightweighting of robots, and saving man-hours in assembly and setup.
The newly developed “Multi Track Magnetic Encoder Integrated Rolling Bearing” is a bearing unit which integrates a deep groove ball bearing that supports robot joints with magnetic ring and sensor. It can detect rotational speed, direction, and absolute angle. By attaching NTN’s proprietary “Multi Track Magnetic Ring” to inner ring of bearing and reading changes in magnetic poles of “Multi Track Magnetic Ring” with magnetic sensor IC equipped with outer ring, the product can detect rotational speed and absolute angle with industry’s highest level in angle detection resolution (maximum 20bit, resolution of approximately 0.00034°). By utilizing technology for integration of bearings cultivated with Integrated Rotation Sensor Bearings, which are adopted in transport equipment such as forklifts, NTN optimizes the gap and directions of “Multi Track Magnetic Ring” and magnetic sensor IC to realize compact and lightweight unit. The product eliminates the need for transmission devices like couplings that connect joint shaft and rotary encoder, achieving downsizing/lightweighting of robot joint. As magnetic encoders have excellent environmental resistance for dust and oil, it can demonstrate its high-resolution detection in such usage conditions.
As the product integrates bearing and magnetic type encoder, it eliminates the operation for mounting and setting up rotary encoders and couplings, making assembly of robot easier. Dimensions and load capacity of the bearing in the product are the same as those of conventional bearings and can be applied to a wide range of robots.
