Servomotor

A servomotor is a rotary actuator or linear actuator that allows for precise control of angular
or linear position, velocity and acceleration.[1] It consists of a suitable motor coupled to a
sensor for position feedback. It also requires a relatively sophisticated controller, often a
dedicated module designed specifically for use with servomotors.

Servomotors are not a specific class of motor although the term servomotor is often used to
refer to a motor suitable for use in aclosed-loop control system.

Servomotors are used in applications such as robotics, CNC machinery or automated

manufacturing.

Contents
Mechanism
Servomotors vs. stepper motors
Encoders
Motors
Control
Integrated servomotors
References

Industrial servomotor
Mechanism The grey/green cylinder is
the brush-type DC motor.
A servomotor is a closed-loop servomechanism that uses position feedback to control its The black section at the
motion and final position. The input to its control is a signal (either analogue or digital) bottom contains the
representing the position commanded for the output shaft. planetary reduction gear,
and the black object on top
The motor is paired with some type of encoder to provide position and speed feedback. In the of the motor is the optical
simplest case, only the position is measured. The measured position of the output is compared rotary encoder for position
feedback. This is the
to the command position, the external input to the controller. If the output position differs
steering actuator of a large
from that required, an error signal is generated which then causes the motor to rotate in either
robot vehicle.
direction, as needed to bring the output shaft to the appropriate position. As the positions
approach, the error signal reduces to zero and the motor stops.

The very simplest servomotors use position-only sensing via a potentiometer and bang-bang control of their motor; the motor always
rotates at full speed (or is stopped). This type of servomotor is not widely used in industrial motion control, but it forms the basis of
the simple and cheap servos used for radio-controlled models.

More sophisticated servomotors use optical rotary encoders to measure the speed of the output shaft[2] and a variable-speed drive to
control the motor speed.[3] Both of these enhancements, usually in combination with a PID control algorithm, allow the servomotor
, with less overshooting.[4]
to be brought to its commanded position more quickly and more precisely

Servomotors vs. stepper motors

Servomotors are generally used as a high-performance alternative to the stepper
motor. Stepper motors have some inherent ability to control position, as they have
built-in output steps. This often allows them to be used as an open-loop position
control, without any feedback encoder, as their drive signal specifies the number of
steps of movement to rotate, but for this the controller needs to 'know' the position of
the stepper motor on power up. Therefore, on first power up, the controller will have
to activate the stepper motor and turn it to a known position, e.g. until it activates an
end limit switch. This can be observed when switching on an inkjet printer; the
controller will move the ink jet carrier to the extreme left and right to establish the
Industrial servomotors and
end positions. A servomotor will immediately turn to whatever angle the controller gearboxes, with standardised flange
instructs it to, regardless of the initial position at power up. mountings for interchangeability

The lack of feedback of a stepper motor limits its performance, as the stepper motor
can only drive a load that is well within its capacity, otherwise missed steps under load may lead to positioning errors and the system
may have to be restarted or recalibrated. The encoder and controller of a servomotor are an additional cost, but they optimise the
performance of the overall system (for all of speed, power and accuracy) relative to the capacity of the basic motor. With larger
systems, where a powerful motor represents an increasing proportion of the system cost, servomotors have the advantage.

There has been increasing popularity in closed loop stepper motors in recent years. They act like servomotors but have some
differences in their software control to get smooth motion. The main benefit of a closed loop stepper motor is its relatively low cost.
There is also no need to tune thePID controller on a closed loop stepper system.[5]

Many applications, such as laser cutting machines, may be offered in two ranges, the low-priced range using stepper motors and the
high-performance range using servomotors.[6]

Encoders
The first servomotors were developed with synchros as their encoders.[7] Much work was done with these systems in the
development of radar and anti-aircraft artillery during World War II.[8]

Simple servomotors may useresistive potentiometersas their position encoder. These are only used at the very simplest and cheapest
level, and are in close competition with stepper motors. They suffer from wear and electrical noise in the potentiometer track.
Although it would be possible to electrically differentiate their position signal to obtain a speed signal, PID controllers that can make
use of such a speed signal generally warrant a more precise encoder
.

Modern servomotors userotary encoders, either absolute or incremental. Absolute encoders can determine their position at power-on,
but are more complicated and expensive. Incremental encoders are simpler, cheaper and work at faster speeds. Incremental systems,
like stepper motors, often combine their inherent ability to measure intervals of rotation with a simple zero-position sensor to set their
position at start-up.

Instead of servomotors, sometimes a motor with a separate, external linear encoder is used.[9] These motor + linear encoder systems
avoid inaccuracies in the drivetrain between the motor and linear carriage, but their design is made more complicated as they are no
longer a pre-packaged factory-made system.

Motors
The type of motor is not critical to a servomotor and different types may be used. At the simplest, brushed permanent magnet DC
motors are used, owing to their simplicity and low cost. Small industrial servomotors are typically electronically commutated
brushless motors.[10] For large industrial servomotors, AC induction motors are typically used, often with variable frequency drives
to allow control of their speed. For ultimate performance in a compact package, brushless AC motors with permanent magnet fields
are used, effectively large versions of Brushless DC electric motors.[11]
Drive modules for servomotors are a standard industrial component. Their design is a branch of power electronics, usually based on a
three-phase MOSFET or IGBT H bridge. These standard modules accept a single direction and pulse count (rotation distance) as
input. They may also include over-temperature monitoring, over-torque and stall detection features.[12] As the encoder type, gearhead
ratio and overall system dynamics are application specific, it is more difficult to produce the overall controller as an off-the-shelf
module and so these are often implemented as part of the main controller
.

Control
Most modern servomotors are designed and supplied around a dedicated controller module from the same manufacturer. Controllers
may also be developed aroundmicrocontrollers in order to reduce cost for large-volume applications.

Integrated servomotors
Integrated servomotors are designed so as to include the motor, driver, encoder and associated electronics into a single
package.[13][14]

References
1. "Archived copy" (http://www.princeton.edu/~mae412/TEXT/NTRAK2002/292-302.pdf)(PDF). Archived (https://web.a
rchive.org/web/20120907042509/http://www .princeton.edu/~mae412/TEXT/NTRAK2002/292-302.pdf)(PDF) from
the original on 2012-09-07. Retrieved 2012-10-12.
2. Suk-Hwan Suh; Seong Kyoon Kang; Dae-Hyuk Chung; Ian Stroud (22 August 2008). Theory and Design of CNC
Systems (https://books.google.com/books?id=c_-3TxZlnpMC&pg=P A11). Springer Science & Business Media.
pp. 11–. ISBN 978-1-84800-336-1. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170321000646/https://books.google.co
m/books?id=c_-3TxZlnpMC&pg=PA11) from the original on 21 March 2017.
3. Jacek F. Gieras (3 June 2011).Permanent Magnet Motor Technology: Design and Applications, Third Edition(http
s://books.google.com/books?id=rFrFLUTri0MC&pg=PT26). CRC Press. pp. 26–.ISBN 978-1-4398-5901-8. Archived
(https://web.archive.org/web/20170321000849/https://books.google.com/books?id=rFrFLUTri0MC&pg=PT26) from
the original on 21 March 2017.
4. Ralf Der; Georg Martius (11 January 2012).The Playful Machine: Theoretical Foundation and Practical Realization
of Self-Organizing Robots(https://books.google.com/books?id=WI71Ffzs2AUC&pg=P A302). Springer Science &
Business Media. pp. 302–.ISBN 978-3-642-20253-7. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20170320233318/http
s://books.google.com/books?id=WI71Ffzs2AUC&pg=P A302) from the original on 20 March 2017.
5. "Fastech Closed Loop Stepper Motors"(http://www.fastech.co.kr/bbs/eng/motor.php). Fastech Korea. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20150317041316/http://www .fastech.co.kr/bbs/eng/motor.php) from the original on 2015-03-
17.
6. "Legend Elite laser series"(http://www.epiloglaser.com/legend_series.htm). Epilog Laser. Archived (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20120825212829/http://www.epiloglaser.com/legend_series.htm)from the original on 2012-08-25."Servo
motors are incorporated in both the X and Y axes of every Legend Elite Series laser. These motors are known for
their fast acceleration and deceleration speeds.
"
7. Upson, A.R.; Batchelor, J.H. (1978) [1965]. Synchro Engineering Handbook. Beckenham: Muirhead Vactric
Components. pp. 7, 67–90.
8. "Chapter 10". Naval Ordnance and Gunnery(http://www.eugeneleeslover.com/USNAVY/CHAPTER-10-D.html).
Volume 1. US Navy. 1957. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20071202024008/http://www
.eugeneleeslover.com/
USNAVY/CHAPTER-10-D.html)from the original on 2007-12-02.
9. "Accupoint™ Linear Encoders"(http://www.epiloglaser.com/legend_linearencoders.htm). Epilog Laser. Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20121007020644/http://www.epiloglaser.com/legend_linearencoders.htm)from the original
on 2012-10-07.
10. "Brushless DC motor cores for servomotors"(http://www.maxonmotor.co.uk/maxon/view/product/motor/ecmotor/ecm
ax/ecmax40/283869). Maxon Motor. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20131225015128/http://www.maxonmoto
r.co.uk/maxon/view/product/motor/ecmotor/ecmax/ecmax40/283869)from the original on 2013-12-25.
11. "Compact Dynamic Brushless Servo Motor"(http://www.moog.com/products/motors-servomotors/servo-motors/).
Moog Inc. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20121013132757/http://www
.moog.com/products/motors-servomot
ors/servo-motors/) from the original on 2012-10-13.
12. "Brushless PWM Servo Amplifiers"(http://www.a-m-c.com/download/datasheet/zbdc6a6.pdf) (PDF). Advanced
Motion Control. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20141127005043/http://www
.a-m-c.com/download/datasheet/
zbdc6a6.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 2014-11-27.
13. Max A. Denket (2006).Frontiers in Robotics Research(https://books.google.com/books?id=CPmnK857LoAC&pg=P
A44). Nova Publishers. pp. 44–.ISBN 978-1-60021-097-6. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180513171407/
https://books.google.com/books?id=CPmnK857LoAC&pg=P A44) from the original on 2018-05-13.
14. Jacek F. Gieras (22 January 2002).Permanent Magnet Motor Technology: Design and Applications, Second Edition,
(https://books.google.com/books?id=u_NiSnZeLQQC&pg=P A283). CRC Press. pp. 283–.ISBN 978-0-8247-4394-9.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180513171407/https://books.google.com/books?id=u_NiSnZeLQQC&pg=P
A283) from the original on 13 May 2018.

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