Why Accurate Testing and Diagnostic Equipment is Vital to Proper Servo Motor Repair

Mark Switzer

Why Accurate Testing and Diagnostic Equipment is Vital to Proper Servo Motor Repair

This month, The Electrical Apparatus Show with David Miller featured a special guest, Clint Switzer, Hardware Engineer at Octava Engineering. The two joined to discuss servo motor repair and service opportunities in the fast-burgeoning robotics space. After covering undervalued aspects of servo motor repairs and testing, they delved into the effect of COVID-19 on industrial automation and consideration for EASA shops looking to expand into servo motor repair.

What You'll Learn:

  • Why accurate testing and diagnostic equipment is vital to proper servo motor repair and maintenance: Servo motors are different from other types of AC/DC electric motors, and you need to know about the potential complications of inadequate testing and diagnostics. 

  • The two biggest obstacles stand between you and a quality repair, with a particular focus on encoder alignment and final testing.

  • Environmental conditions and warranties: Learn the environmental factors weakening the health of a servo motor and what to do with malfunctioning out-of-warranty equipment.

Straight to the Source

Join the conversation.

Do you have a question or need help understanding a portion of the podcast? Start a conversation on SoundCloud and get a response directly from David or Clint.

 

 

Servo motors and the robotics arm race podcast graphic

 

Select Excerpts

Enjoy these highlights from the conversation.

David:

"Let's talk about the servo motor. What kind of unique challenges are they going to see? What will they be faced with in diagnosing, testing, and getting it back up and running that they might not encounter when working with a more typical AC or DC motor?"

Clint:

"The big difference is that the motor has a very precise encoder device attached. Also, the rotor of the motor has permanent magnets, which you won't find on a general-purpose motor. So those are the unique components of the motor.

The real trick is diagnosing whether those two components are still usable. Magnets can lose magnetism; the other issue is synchronizing or aligning the incremental or absolute encoder device to that rotor so the motor operates appropriately."

Don't miss out and jeopardize your production. Be sure to listen to the entire conversation. The Electrical Apparatus Show is available on SoundCloud and Apple Podcasts. Search 'Electrical Apparatus' and don't forget to subscribe for future podcasts each month.