What happens if the pattern on a digital tape blade wears off?

Maintenance & Repair
Durability

The obvious failure mode for an optically read blade is the pattern wearing off, and it is the first thing anyone asks. The T1 Tomahawk carries a second, magnetic encoder tracking reel rotation inside the housing, so grinding away a section of the printed pattern does not stop it reading. Redundancy is the reason a worn blade does not end the tool.

Why two encoders instead of one

An optical pattern is read off the blade
A magnetic encoder tracks reel rotation
Grinding the pattern away does not stop it
Redundancy, not a single point of failure
A worn blade does not end the tool

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It keeps reading, because there are two encoders. The T1 normally tracks position by reading an optical pattern printed on the underside of the blade. Grind a section of that pattern away and the measurement still appears, because a second magnetic encoder inside the housing is tracking reel rotation as backup.