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Essential Info: Get the 411 on Servo Motors

Servo motors are small but they are powerful and highly efficient devices. They have been around for a long time and are used in wide range of applications. The features they come with make perfect fit for radio-controlled and remote-controlled toy cars, airplanes and robots. Also, servo motors and drives are widely used in in-line manufacturing, industrial applications, food and pharmaceutics services, robotics, etc. These small devices have a servo circuitry that is fixed right inside the unit and has positionable shaft. The movement of the shaft is determinate by the electric signal which also is responsible for the motor control.

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Servo motors are made of a very simple set-up and to understand their way of working you need to look under the hood. They are composed of a small DC motor, control circuit, and potentiometer. The motor is attached to the control wheel and as it rotates, the resistance of the potentiometer is changing, so the control circuit can control the amount of movement including the direction. The power supply to the motor stops in the moment when the shaft is in the desired direction. Otherwise, the motor is turned in the wanted direction. The desired position is sent by electrical pulses through the signal wire and the speed is proportional to the differences between the desired and actual position. If the motor is far from the desired position it will turn fast, otherwise it will turn slow. This is known as proportional control.

Servo motors are controlled by an electrical pulse which is sent through the control wire. There are a maximum and minimum pulse and a repetition rate. The servo motors and drives can turn 90 degrees in any direction for a total of 180-degree movement.

There are two types of servo motors and drives DC and AC. AC models are generally used in industrial machinery as they can handle higher current surges while the DC motors are usually a better choice for smaller applications. DC motors are a cheaper option and they are designed specifically for continuous rotation.

As we mention in this article, servo motors are widely used. They are used in radio-controlled airplanes to control surfaces such as rudders, walking a robot, elevators, or operation grippers. In pharmaceuticals and food services, servo motors are used in harsher environments where the level of corrosion is high so they help to maintain hygiene standards. You can find these motors used in the in-line production process as well, where the manufacturing requires precise work and high repetition.

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