ALPS Electric Co., Ltd. has developed the EC60A15 Series of hollow shaft encoders, which offer a surface area for the hollow shaft three times that of previous ALPS products. The first commercial samples will be shipped from the beginning of June 2004. The new product will be featured at ALPS SHOW 2004, held in the Hiten Room of the New Takanawa Prince Hotel in Shinagawa, Tokyo, for three days from May 26.
More dials to control air conditioning or audio systems in automobiles now contain an additional switch or icon in the center of the dial. Along with this market trend, there is greater demand for variation in the width of the shaft of the encoder, allowing for more originality in operational design.
The EC60A15 Series of hollow shaft encoders were developed with just such a wide shaft surface area. The surface area of the shaft is three times wider than the EC45A series (44.5mm (W) x 45mm (D) x 20mm (H) with internal shaft diameter of 25mm), but with a projected area that is only 1.4 times larger. This was made possible by ALPS' proprietary mechanism design technology. The wider surface area allows for more freedom in terms of function of visual design (such as the incorporation of several switches or operational icons in the center of the dial), and contributes to an improved design for the automotive interior.
Enlarging the diameter of the shaft and the size of the component increases the possibility of warpage of the plastic when the component is formed, interfering with smooth rotation. Shaking of the shaft during rotation is kept to a minimum with optimal design and materials for the shaft and encoder case, selected using repeated design and material simulations. In addition, the working part and sliding surfaces are both made of plastic, giving the user the feeling of "smooth clicks" when rotating the dial.
