What is a Servo Motor?

A servo motor is a type of motor that is commonly used in robotic, semiconductor equipment, and machine tools where great precision and position control are crucial.

The motor is generally used in a closed loop system that is inclusive of several mechanical parts such as a control circuit, potentiometer, drive gears, servo motor amplifier, and a resolver or encoder.

How Does Servo Motor Work?

A servo motor assists in a tool or equipment by rotating parts of the machine with accurate precision and also at a great position control. The system works by having the controller send low voltage control signals to the servo motor amplifier. The electric signals contain the information for the position, speed, or torque to determine the amount of movement for the final command position.

Servo amplifiers are used to power the servo motor by transferring and translating the signals from the controllers. Receiving the signals from the amplifier, the servo motor knows precisely how much it should move at a given moment. A type of encoder served as a sensor that will send the electrical pulses back to the servo amplifier to provide speed and position feedback and control.

Types of Servo Motors

A servo motor can be classified into different types based on its application. In general, there are two main categories to classify servo motors which are basically based on the current surges they accept – alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC).

If the motor is powered by a DC power supply, then it would be called a DC servo motor. Likewise, if it’s powered by an AC power supply, it would be called an AC servo motor.

Designed to handle smaller surges of current, DC servo motors are ideal for smaller and more precise applications while AC servo motors are usually tasked to handle higher current surges compared to DC servo motors. Hence, AC servo motors are more commonly seen in heavy industrial machinery.

Each of these motors can be further categorized into a much more specific model, each having its own unique application for different situations. For example, there are series and split series servo motors, and shunt control servo motors for DC motors while AC motors are further categorized under positional rotation, continuous rotation, and linear.

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