DIY Rotary Encoder

3D-printable high-resolution optical rotary encoder

Links

Description

A DIY optical rotary encoder with 180 points per rotation and bi-directional detection, designed to be 3D printable and built at home.

I built this encoder because I needed one for my DIY steering wheel project. Commercial options either lacked resolution (most cap out at 20 points per rotation) or were expensive (100+ PPR encoders often exceed $50). The goal was high resolution at a low cost.

The encoder works by detecting when slots in a spinning disk pass between an IR LED emitter and receiver pair. A second pair of LEDs, offset by half a notch, determines rotation direction by checking whether it is blocked or unblocked at any given moment.

Technologies Used

3D Printing
IR LEDs
Arduino

Gallery

Rotary encoder assembly diagram. Rotary Encoder Diagram