New design features of the ECA 4000 absolute ring encoder make it suitable for use in angular motion feedback, according to a Feb. 16 announcement released by Heidenhain Corp., Schaumburg, Ill. The next generation encoder builds on the success of its predecessor, the ERA 4000 incremental ring encoder that has been used for more than a decade in applications involving machine tool rotary tables, semiconductor wafer motion stages and robotics.