Many encoders come sealed from the factory, but as they are temperature cycled, the air inside expands and contracts at a different rate from the air outside the encoder. This puts pressure on the seals of the encoder and eventually breaks them down, creating an unobstructed path to the inside of the encoder. Likewise, external pressure (wash-downs, submersion) creates the same path. If an encoder has seal failure, contaminants get into the encoder and cause errors in optical encoders. Avtron heavy mill duty and severe duty encoders are highly resistant to seal failure, and feature magnetic technology to ignore most contaminants.