Interesting! I wonder if you could mount this on an axis of a 3d printer?
Most printers work on dead reckoning (is that the right term?): they find zero and assume their location based on motor rotation. That requires accurate motion systems, which is great… until it isn’t.
This type of system could open up all sorts of alternate motion systems because we’d have feedback on print head location as well as motion system correction.
https://hackaday.com/2026/10/22/an-open-source-linear-capacitive-encoder/
HackadayAn Open Source Linear Capacitive EncoderIf you’ve ever pulled apart a set of digital calipers, you’ve probably marvelled at the capacitive encoder that does all the measuring work. There’s nothing stopping you from usin…