After careful preparation and extensive beta testing with users and system integrators worldwide, sensor manufacturer POSITAL released its intuitive online tool EncoderMatch.com. This new web platform, which combines a search engine, product configurator and ordering tool, is aimed at the MRO/spare parts business. With a few clicks, maintenance staff and technical buyers can quickly find cost-effective replacements for encoders in existing machines or systems—regardless of the original manufacturer, the company says. By visiting the EncoderMatch portal, the user will gain access to information about matching products from the extensive POSITAL portfolio. When a fully compatible replacement is found, the portal will provide a detailed data sheet for the specified fill-in encoder. Once an order is placed, the required product(s)—starting at MOQ1—will be quickly assembled at POSITAL’s digital factory in Slubice, Poland. Thanks to its highly flexible “mass customization” production system, delivery is usually within five days, and faster for express orders, it adds.
"With EncoderMatch we are targeting a new market," says Christian Fell, head of POSITAL's North American business. “While most of our existing customers have been OEMs in a variety of industries, we are now opening up our digital system to a new set of customers.”
EncoderMatch is about the huge global after-market or MRO business, where there is a constant need to find replacements for an installed base of millions of devices, the company says. This initial entry into this huge and complex market is focused on incremental encoders. "Incremental encoders represent 90% of the North American market for standalone encoders, which makes these devices a good starting point for EncoderMatch," Fell says.
In its initial release, EncoderMatch incorporates the specs of more than 1.5 million incremental encoder types, drawn from the catalogues of more than 20 internationally renown rotary encoder manufacturers, the company says. Algorithms developed with Artificial Intelligence (AI) compare specifications of the rotary encoder to be replaced, including resolution, interfaces, installation space, shaft and flange dimensions and protection class, with the characteristics of devices available from POSITAL’s product portfolio. Customers using the EncoderMatch portal have several options. The shortest way to the desired match is to enter the specific make and type code of the old encoder—typically found on a device’s nameplate. Within seconds the required mechanical and functional features are checked against the POSITAL database and the proper replacement is specified. The level of compatibility is shown in the search result. Alternatively, a manufacturer’s product range can be specified without exact type or product identification. In this case, the inquirer is directed to POSITAL’s online Product Finder tool. All POSITAL incremental encoders that meet the specified requirements will be listed.
POSITAL’s incremental portfolio significantly improves the chances of getting an exact functional match, the company adds. For incremental encoders made by POSITAL the resolution and output level are programmable and can be modified by changing parameters in the firmware, with no need for physical changes to the device. Resolution can be set anywhere from 1 to 16,000 pulses per revolution, while the output can be set to HTL or TTL. These parameters can be defined up-front at the factory when the encoder is ordered or adjusted any time later in the field. POSITAL’s convenient and mobile UBIFAST programming tool is designed to make these configuration changes quick and simple, wherever the setup is needed.
“With EncoderMatch we have launched an exciting initiative that redefines the MRO market and creates cost savings by eliminating the middleman. In addition to price, we are setting new standards in terms of availability,” Fell says. "This also applies to ancient encoders that might have long disappeared from the catalogues of the original manufacturers, but can be replaced with new devices that can be easily obtained from POSITAL."
