Servo Controllers & Drives

Servo drives are a single component of a complete servo system.  A servo system is comprised of a servo drive, servo motor with feedback and associated cables for power & communication/feedback.  The combination of these units allows for precise control of position, velocity, or torque using feedback loops.

It is a system of devices for controlling a load. The load can be controlled in any manner, i.e. position, direction or speed. The speed or position is controlled in relation to a command or signal, as long as the proper feedback device (resolver or encoder) is used. The feedback and command signals are compared, and the corrections made.

There are numerous options available for servo systems, both in how they operate (ie: safe standstill), how they communicate (ie: Profibus, Can, EtherCAT, Ethernet/IP, DeviceNet, Modbus….), and can be further integrated into the larger controlling environment via PLC.  HMI’s (Human Machine Interfaces) have also become quite popular for controlling the process, as well as visual representation of the same. 

Servo Drives are available with special functionality (software) designed to control specific motion profiles such as:

• Positioning control
• Register control
• Cam Control