The Ultimate Guide to Servo Motors and Servo Drives

Servo Motors and Servo Drives

Servo motors are basic electric motors that are controlled for particular angular rotation with the assistance of an additional servomechanism. In essence, they are a combination of multiple electronic elements, including AC and DC motors. The motors are utilized in a closed loop method that controls its rotating speed by registering its position feedback.

Today, servo motors are used in big industrial solutions as a controlling mechanism. In industries, they are utilized in advanced robotics applications such as automated manufacturing, CNC machinery, assembly lines, printing converting, material handling, factory automation, packaging, machine tools, and others.

In common consumer products, servo motors are used in remote-controlled toy vehicles to track the motion and in DVD or CD players in which the motor activates the tray. Apart from these two examples, servo motors are also leveraged in several other applications that are used daily.

To explain in basic terms, servo motors align DC motors using a potentiometer. This device functions at high speed unless it is guided not to do so by a controller-received action. These kinds of servo motors are utilized in radio-controlled gadgets like drones, toy cars, and model aircraft. In commercial and industrial setups, servo motors with speed sensing and positioning capabilities are leveraged. They use proportional-integral-derivate algorithms for control that aid the engine to swiftly position itself without fail by regulating the shaft’s speed.

Benefits of Servo Motors

Servo motors offers the following advantages in multiple industries:

• Suitable for different load applications
• Small size
• High accuracy
• Smooth running
• Torque control
• High-speed performance
• High acceleration
• High torque-to-inertia ratio
• Very dependable
• Silent operation
• Closed-loop control
• Constant torque at greater speed
• Good output power for their size
• Improved efficiency

Applications of Servo Motors

Servo motors find use in industrial solutions as a replacement for pneumatic and hydraulic systems and traditional stepper and AC motors. Following are a few applications in which servo motors provide an advantage:

• Printing press where they provide the benefits of low cost, reliability, speed, and accuracy
• Renewable energy solutions where efficiency and performance are required
• Simulation tools where smoothness, torque, and speed are essential
• Antenna positioning products that need high accuracy and torque
• Handling and conveyer systems in which high torque, accuracy, and speed are needed
• Robotics applications in which speed, power, and accuracy are important and small size and low weight are an advantage
• Machine tools that need high accuracy

The brushless design of servo motors has advantages in demanding applications like the following:

• Oil & gas and subsea applications in which high temperatures and pressures are witnessed and explosion-proof devices are required
• Defence applications in which high temperature ranges and shock loads are witnessed and superior performance is needed
• Food and beverage industry in which motors need to manage temperature and washdown fluctuations

Servo Drives

In essence, a servo drive is an amplifier that takes control signals from the controllers and elevates them to provide a specific amount of current and voltage of the motor. These drives are used in functions like semiconductor manufacturing, CNC machining, automation, and robotics.

Servo drives come in multiple kinds and the torque-mode amplifier is a commonly used type. It takes and converts the controller’s command signal into the precise motor current. The advantages of these devices include efficient motion control, higher speed, and superior positioning.

Servo drives can be compared to servo motors because they have an advantage over AC or DC motors because of the use of motor feedback. The motor feedback function assists to identity disruption in the command motion’s accuracy. The lifecycle of servos is increased when leveraged at a constant speed which makes them superior to general AC wound motors.

In commercial and industrial settings, both servo drives and servo motors are important and utilized for controlling speeds and monitoring positions. Servo drives are ideal if you need a system that has better torque compared to a stepper motor or a solution that has accurate control.

We advise you to consult a licensed professional to get recommendations for the electrical systems you need for your business purposes.