We had an enquiry from a customer running a Siemens servo drive system who needed motor feedback with functional safety certification built in, rather than adding a separate safety module downstream. The Hengstler AD58S with DRIVE-CLiQ interface is built for exactly this kind of direct, safety-rated motor feedback.
This looks simple, but the AD58S isn’t just the standard AD58 with a different connector – it’s the safety-rated variant of the family, certified to SIL2/PL d/Category 3, and it plugs straight into Siemens’ DRIVE-CLiQ interface (there’s also an ACUROlink interface option on the same safety platform, and a higher-rated AD58E at SIL3/PL e/Cat.3 if your application needs that level – that’s a separate part number). It uses the same true geared optical multi-turn mechanism as the standard AD58, so there’s no battery to maintain.
In actual application, the AD58S gives up to 24-bit single-turn plus 12-bit multi-turn resolution (higher than the standard AD58’s 22-bit, since the safety variant uses a different resolution class), and it adds motor temperature logging and encoder temperature monitoring on top of position feedback – useful data for drive diagnostics, not just position. It handles continuous operation up to 10,000 rpm.
From our experience, before we quote this, we would normally check whether your application genuinely needs SIL2/PL d (AD58S) or the higher SIL3/PL e (AD58E), and confirm DRIVE-CLiQ is the interface your drive expects rather than ACUROlink. Hope this helps.
