What kind of encoders should I get?

[Team2909]

We have a toughbox micro and 6 inch mechanum wheels. What type of encoders do we need.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Team2909

We have a toughbox micro and 6 inch mechanum wheels.

Welcome to Chief Delphi !

http://youtu.be/LlSoEfAW47I?t=3m33s

[asid61]

Incremental.
What are you trying to do? Theoretically you don't need encoders at all.

[Team2909]

We would like to put encoders on for autonomous. Originally had tank tracks, but we are switching to mechanum. Figured it would be easier and more reliable to use encoders.

[nickbrickmaster]

Quadrature encoders are the standard for drivetrains.

Andymark has USDigital E4T encoders, which work well with their gearboxes. I have had bad experiences with their connectors though. They also sell SRX magnetic encoders, which we got this season. They require additional machining, but seem better in most other ways. Many teams also use Grayhill shaft encoders (you can find them on Digikey), but you will have to find someone else to talk about these.

[Peyton Yeung]

I've had success with the amt encoders from FIRST Choice.

[Ether]

Originally Posted by Team2909

We would like to put encoders on for autonomous. Originally had tank tracks, but we are switching to mechanum (FTFY). Figured it would be easier and more reliable to use encoders.

Following up on asid61's question: What are you trying to do?

e.g. Do you plan to use the encoders just to close the loop on wheel speed?

or are you going to try to use the 4 encoder velocity readings to compute vehicle speed and yaw rate?

or are you going to try to use the 4 encoder position readings to compute vehicle position and angle?

or something else?

[BDRessler]

we have had success with these in the past, but be careful with mecanum wheels, as they tend to sacrifice accuracy with encoders due to slippage. This year, we are looking into using an optical mouse for our linear odometry and an imu for rotational.