Servo Control Drive

To begin with, let's understand the concept of servo. It is
an automatic instrument that controls the performance of any mechanism based on
the continuous feedback that it receives. Basically, it is a closed loop
mechanism dealing with performance, feedback and rectification signal if
needed. Now, the instrument that really monitors the performance is called the
servo drive and since its preliminary function is to control the performance of
the mechanism it is also called as servo
control drive. It is nothing but an electronic amplifier that gets linked
to a servo mechanism to monitor its performance.

Now,
let's see how a servo control drive
functions. A servo drive basically receives command signals from a control system, amplifies
it, and then transmits electric current to a servo motor in order to produce
the desired result. Sensors attached to the servo motors feeds the actual
performance data to the drive and the latter then compares the actual data with
the desired data. In case of any deviation, requisite rectification is done by
sending an altered voltage frequency or pulse width to the servo motor.

Usage of these servo
control drives is quite high. They are used in CNC machining, factory
automation, and robotics and many other places. They score over traditional DC
or AC motors with the addition of motor feedback. This feedback is extremely
important as it can be used to detect unwanted motion and thereby ensuring the
accuracy of the commanded motion. Servo drives are even known to possess better life span than
the AC wound motors.

The benefits of servo control drive
thus can be listed as follows:

• Reliable and dynamic response
• Cost effective and improved productivity
• Accurate output
• Flexibility that can be mapped across diverse types of
  machines
• Machine precision leading to better quality of finished
  product
• Reducing the effect of minor errors on the desired
  output
• Reducing human intervention in machine usage and thus
  increasing the manpower productivity

Some of the different
types of servo control drive that
are being used in the industries are as follows:

• Normal servo control drives that are used low power
  applications
• Digital servo drives that are programmed to handle
  multiple applications simultaneously
• Multi-axis servo drives are poised to handle greater
  voltage needs or loads and hence provide more flexibility to the entire
  mechanism
• Ethernet Servo Drives standardize the entire
  communication network leading to faster commissioning and precise configuration

 

About the Author

Article by Jenny, content writer at Inter-Dev Internet
Marketing Company, on behalf of Servotronix.com – AC
servo systems