We received an enquiry from a customer running equipment outdoors, where the old optical encoder on a winch drive kept failing from dust and moisture getting past the seals. They wanted something more rugged that could still give absolute multi-turn position. The Hengstler ACURO AR60 is built for exactly that kind of harsh-environment duty.
This looks simple, but the AR60 isn’t an optical encoder at all – it uses magnetic sensor technology, so there’s no glass disc or LED to contaminate, and the multi-turn count is tracked electronically without a gearbox or a battery. That makes it genuinely wear-free on the multi-turn side, which matters for equipment that’s hard to access for maintenance, like cranes, winches and outdoor lifting gear.
In actual application, the AR60 gives up to 28-bit combined resolution, runs on SSI, CANopen or Analog interface depending on what your controller expects, handles a broad -40°C to +100°C operating range, and fits into just 32 mm mounting depth with an aluminium housing. From our experience, before we quote this, we would normally check the interface your PLC or controller is set up for, and the ambient conditions (temperature, vibration, ingress) at the mounting point. Hope this helps.
