What Is a Servo Motor?

Posted on Jan 19, 2021

Servo motor

A servo motor provides its application with high efficiency and precision by using a feedback sensor with a regular motor. The servo motor utilizes a technique called the servo mechanism. It can be used to rotate an object at a specific distance and angle.

There is no denying that children love toys. They play around toy cars, toy trains, toy animals, and dolls. The toys have given the children not only a pleasant time, but also a chance to explore and develop their intelligence. Some of these toys have the ability to move and do some funny tricks if the batteries are provided. Most people think it is the electricity that does the trick. However, there is more to the electricity than meets the eye. Turns out, the electricity is only one part of the equation to move up the toys, another vital part is a device called the motor. A motor is a unique device which has the ability to convert the electrical energy to mechanical energy. These days, the motors are not only applied to the toys, but also a lot of industrial equipment. Just like in the toys, the motors can help to power and move the industrial equipment. One type of them is the subject of today, the servo motor. 


What Is A Servo Motor?

A servo motor is a type of motor that is capable of rotating with great precision. It is common for the servo motor to be built with a control circuit, which will provide feedback on the current position of the motor shaft. It is precisely this feedback that allows the servo motors to rotate with such a great precision. The servo motor utilizes a technique called the servo mechanism. It can be used to rotate an object at a specific distance and angle. 

If a motor is motivated by a DC power supply, then it is called a DC servo motor. In contrast, if it is powered by an AC powered motor, it is called an AC servo motor. The gear arrangement of the servo motors has allowed the people to compact the high torque servo motor in relatively small and lightweight packages. Such features have enabled the servo motor to be adopted for applications such as the toy car, the helicopters and planes, and robotics. 


What Is Servo Mechanism?

Since we mentioned the servo mechanism earlier, let’s now discuss the servo mechanism. In the control engineering, servo mechanism can be viewed as an automatic equipment which adopts the technique of error-sensing negative feedback to modify the action of the mechanism. In order for the servo mechanism to work, there is a built-in encoder or other position feedback mechanism, which are applied on the displacement controlled applications. With the help of the encoder or the position feedback mechanism, the servo mechanism can now make sure that the output is achieving the favorable effect.


How Do Servo Motors Work?

Since we have had the basic understanding of servo mechanism, we can now talk about how the servo motors perform its function. Within servo motors, there are devices such as the motor, the potentiometer, the gear assembly, and the controlling circuit. A servo motor served as part of a closed loop system. The servo motors can provide the torque and velocity as required from a servo controller which uses a feedback device to close the loop. The feedback device has the ability to give the information such as the current, the velocity, or the position to the servo controller. The servo controller will then adjust the motor action depending on the commanded parameters.


AC Servo Motors vs. DC Servo Motors

The two words AC and DC are both abbreviations. AC means the alternating current, and DC means the direct current. Both the alternating current and the direct current servo motors use the electrical current to produce the magnetic fields which are rotating. This action will also produce the rotational mechanical force in a device called the armature, which is located on the rotor or stator around the shaft. It is very common for several types of the motors to utilize this same process to turn the electric energy into powerful bursts of force and in turns using the generated force to provide the dynamic levels of speed or power.


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