Which type of encoders does Rutex Servo Drives perfer--
Incremental or Absolute??

incremental....

Incrimental and differential

What is the difference between the 2?

Basically there are two types of incremental or quadrature encoders, which means there is two wave forms out , (generally square wave) that have a 90deg phase shift between the two (hence quadrature).
The two types of general outputs are single ended or differential. Single ended means that there is one output per wave form, which can be open collector or with pull up resistor.
Differential means there is a line driver output which supplies two square wave outputs per waveform, one is the complement of the other. So you end up with four outputs for the two wave forms.
The benefit of differential is that they are not as prone to noise pickup as single ended are.
Al

Is there an "absolute" type of encoder?

Absolute encoders typically have 12 bit wide output (or can be serial) but these are less common, the advantage is that the position is retained when powering down, so at power up there is no need to zero reference.
Al

Can one use the absolute type of encoders with the rutex system??

No,
The Rutex system requires only incrimental. Absolute encoders are much much more expensive at the resolutions most of us choose for our systems.

Tom Eldredge

Thanks Tom, I guess the absolute encoders that I have are useless.

Tom,
What resolution do Rutex Servo Drives work best at??

Gentlemen,

I don't see the post here, but I was notified that a customer inquired which resolution the Rutex drives like best. I use 500 line encoders, which gives 2000 steps/rev of the motor. Anything wll work. The drives do not care. 1000 lines is popular too. Keep in mind the speed you want the machine to move. Mach2 can only send out 45000 steps per second. The rutex drives can handle 100,000 steps. The 2000 series will handle 200,000 steps per second. I am hoping I have some to sell in about 3-4 weeks now.

Tom Eldredge
rutex LLC