Imagine a sensor that needs no battery and can keep counting without external power - how is that possible? This interview explores the Wiegand effect, its practical advantages for self-powered counting and multiturn sensing, and how UBITO helps engineers bring the technology into their designs.
Overview
Can an encoder remember its position when the power is gone - without using a battery? Wiegand technology makes this possible through magnetic switching, generating the energy needed to record movement even when the surrounding system is switched off. For engineers designing equipment that must retain position information through a power interruption, this creates an attractive alternative to batteries or mechanical multiturn gearing.
In this interview, we start with the basics: what absolute encoders do, why multiturn position matters, and why tracking multiple revolutions creates an additional challenge. From there, we explore how the Wiegand effect works and how it enables self-powered multiturn counting. We'll look at the practical value for servo motors, robotics and other industrial motion applications, as well as the components, manufacturing expertise and engineering support needed to turn the technology into a reliable solution.
We'll also explore why this established technology is attracting renewed interest today, including growing demand in servodrive applications, and where it could go next, from humanoid robotics to automotive and other sensing or counting applications. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of where Wiegand technology fits, when it makes sense, and how it can be implemented.
Key Takeaways
- Understand how Wiegand technology enables self-powered counting, using absolute multiturn encoders as a practical example.
- Identify how UBITO’s components, manufacturing experience and application support help customers implement the technology.
- Explore why demand is increasing in servodrive applications and where battery-free sensing and counting could create further opportunities.
Speaker
Tobias Best is General Manager of UBITO and Product Manager for Wiegand Technology within the FRABA Group. He has worked with Wiegand technology and its application in industrial encoders since 2017, with responsibilities spanning product strategy, development, manufacturing and customer applications. He works with encoder manufacturers and technology partners on Wiegand sensors, energy harvesting electronics and battery-free multiturn systems. His role connects the technical, application, and commercial perspectives of bringing components through customer integration and industrial production.