RLS

Manufacturer information and published contact details

RLS contact details

Head office

Poslovna cona Žeje pri Komendi, Pod vrbami 2
SI-1218 Komenda
Slovenia

Telephone +386 1 5272 100

Email sales@rls.si

Website rls.si

RLS UK-IRL (sales support, UK and Ireland)

United Kingdom

Telephone +44 7469 300143

Email UK-IRL@rls.si

Web rls.si/eng/about-us#worldwide-support

Show RLS headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

Contact details as published by RLS Merilna tehnika d.o.o. (Renishaw associate company, 50 % owned by Renishaw), checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with RLS Merilna tehnika d.o.o. (Renishaw associate company, 50 % owned by Renishaw).

RLS product lines

Who RLS is

RLS is a Slovenian manufacturer of magnetic position encoders, based in a business park at Komenda just north of Ljubljana. The name stands for Rotary and Linear Motion Sensors, and its legal name is RLS Merilna tehnika d.o.o. The company has become a familiar name in robotics, because its AksIM off-axis absolute encoders are a common choice for the hollow joints of collaborative robots, humanoids and gimbals, where a thin ring encoder has to sit around cables and a shaft.

RLS is an associate company of Renishaw, the UK metrology group. It is worth being precise about the relationship: RLS states that Renishaw holds a 50 % share in its ownership, and that Renishaw sells and supports RLS magnetic encoders through Renishaw’s worldwide network. RLS in turn handles Renishaw product sales in Slovenia and several neighbouring countries.

History and ownership

RLS was founded in Ljubljana in December 1989 to supply position encoders and metrology products. In 2000 it began to specialise in magnetic encoders and components, which remains its core business. The company says it was the first to develop the integrated Hall sensor ASIC concept for measuring rotation with a diametrically magnetised magnet, the basis of its OnAxis products. More recent milestones include joining the EU Horizon 2020 Mag-ID consortium on 1 October 2020 and sponsoring the French robotics cluster Robotics Place from September 2022. RLS is also a member of robotics associations in Denmark (DIRA) and Spain (HispaRob). Its pages do not give a headcount, so we have not stated one.

Product portfolio

Off-axis absolute rotary encoders

• AksIM-2 is the established off-axis kit encoder: up to 20-bit resolution, ±0.004° to ±0.020° accuracy after self-calibration, 10,000 rpm and ring inner diameters from 8 to 68 mm. Outputs include BiSS C, SSI and asynchronous serial. RLS also lists a redundant AksIM-2 with BiSS-C and RS422 outputs.
• AksIM-4 HIPERFACE DSL adds a native HIPERFACE DSL interface for compact servo motors, with up to 20 bits and ±0.005° accuracy on 53 or 80 mm rings. Other AksIM-4 variants include large rings of 115 and 150 mm at up to 21 bits, and a dual concentric version with 19-bit input and output channels for measuring both sides of a gearbox.

Through-hole and on-axis rotary encoders

• Orbis is a through-hole absolute module that can sit anywhere along a shaft, with up to 14 bits, ±0.25° accuracy and eight output types from BiSS-C and SSI to PWM and UVW commutation, rated -40 to +120 °C.
• The RM44 / RM58 are housed non-contact rotary encoders with up to 14 bits, a range of absolute, incremental and analogue outputs, speeds up to 60,000 rpm and IP64 or IP68 sealing. Smaller relatives include the RM08, RM22, RM36 and the RMB modules.

Linear encoders

• The LM10 is an incremental magnetic system for linear or rotary use, with up to 1.0 mm ride height, IP68 readhead and magnetic scale up to 100 m long.
• The LA11 is an absolute linear encoder with 0.244 µm finest resolution and up to 7 m/s. RLS now marks it “not recommended for new design” and points designers to its Artos Linear and Artos Rotary absolute systems.

Technologies and standards

Magnetic encoders give up some accuracy compared with high-end optical encoders, but tolerate dust, oil, condensation and shock much better, and the off-axis ring format leaves the shaft free. RLS’s AksIM rings use self-calibration after mounting to recover accuracy that would otherwise be lost to eccentricity, which is why mounting tolerances still deserve care. The interfaces it supports, BiSS-C, SSI, SPI and HIPERFACE DSL, cover most servo drives and motion controllers. Our guide to absolute vs incremental encoders and the guide to frameless motor sizing for robot joints show where a kit encoder fits in a joint.

Industries served

RLS product pages list robotics, electric motors, medical, AGVs, gimbals, green energy, agriculture and printing as application areas. Typical uses are encoders in robot and cobot joints, motor commutation and feedback, and position sensing on mobile and outdoor machines.

Global and UK presence

RLS runs its own support offices for the UK and Ireland, the DACH region, Benelux, the Nordics, France, Italy, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Renishaw companies handle North and Latin America, China, Japan, Korea and Asia-Pacific. For UK engineers, the RLS UK-IRL contact covers technical and sales support, and Renishaw’s network also sells RLS encoders.

What to send when specifying an RLS encoder

Send the shaft or bore diameter and the space available, required resolution and accuracy, single-turn or multi-turn, the interface your drive reads, supply voltage, speed, temperature and sealing needs, and for kit encoders, how the ring and readhead will be located.

Specify Motion is independent of RLS and Renishaw. Our engineers can help source RLS encoders or propose equivalents from our supply network on published figures; see find a replacement or the encoders hub.

RLS history: key dates

1. 1989RLS founded in December in Ljubljana, Slovenia
2. 2000Begins to specialise in magnetic encoders and components
3. 2020Joins the EU Horizon 2020 Mag-ID consortium on 1 October
4. 2022Becomes a sponsor of the French robotics cluster Robotics Place

RLS encoders

Magnetic rotary encoder

AksIM-2

Off-axis absolute magnetic kit encoder for hollow shafts, with up to 20-bit resolution, ±0.004° to ±0.020° accuracy after self-calibration, 10,000 rpm and ring inner diameters from 8 to 68 mm.

Magnetic rotary encoder

AksIM-4 HIPERFACE DSL

Off-axis absolute magnetic encoder with a native HIPERFACE DSL interface for compact servo motors, up to 20-bit resolution and ±0.005° accuracy, on 53 mm or 80 mm rings, 7–12 V supply.

Magnetic rotary encoder

Orbis

Through-hole absolute magnetic encoder module that mounts anywhere along a shaft, with up to 14-bit resolution, ±0.25° accuracy, a choice of eight output types and -40 to +120 °C.

Magnetic rotary encoder

RM44 / RM58

Housed non-contact magnetic rotary encoders with up to 14-bit resolution, absolute, incremental, sin/cos or analogue outputs, up to 60,000 rpm and IP64 or IP68 sealing.

Magnetic linear encoder

LM10

Incremental magnetic linear and rotary encoder system with analogue or digital outputs, up to 1.0 mm ride height, IP68 readhead and magnetic scale lengths up to 100 m.

Magnetic linear encoder · legacy

LA11

Absolute magnetic linear encoder with 0.244 µm finest resolution, BiSS-C, SSI or SPI output, 7 m/s and lengths to 16.3 m; RLS marks it not recommended for new designs.