Rugged, Customizable Encoder Family from Elma Offers Balance Between Cost and Performance

Versatile configurations provide reliable operation and “Swiss-click” tactile feedback

Elma Electronic now offers the E18 family of price-competitive, robust mechanical incremental encoders. This new range of encoders offers a high-quality alternative to system designers struggling to find a drop-in, rugged encoder for harsh environments with a footprint that matches their current PCB design.

Mark Thorsell, sales manager for Elma Electronic rotary switch products in the Americas noted, “A well-designed user interface is a key to any electronic system for efficient operation. What good is any panel control if it begins to work intermittently and ultimately fails? Elma’s E18 encoders ensure that users will experience reliable operation out in the field, at a cost that makes them a logical substitution.”

Typical applications include white goods, home automation, two-way radios, power, heat, and water distribution controls as well as industrial controllers and audio or entertainment systems.

Elma’s E18 encoders are available in a variety of configurations, including with or without a push button, and with or without a threaded bushing. There is also an option to have the shaft already mounted in the encoder body or to have the shaft supplied separately for tape and reel packing and/or industry-standard reflow soldering processes. And the entire line of E8 encoders includes Elma’s renowned “Swiss Click Indexing System” that optimizes encoder life and epitomizes quality turning feel.

Elma’s extra-stable, gull-wing SMT terminations or THT pins are standard, and even in smaller quantities, customer-specific customizations may be possible. Packing in the tray (THT) or tape-and-reel (SMD) offers plenty of purchasing options.