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 special guest, Clint Switzer - Product Development Engineer at Octava Engineering. The two joined for an hour-long discussion on 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 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 standing between you and a quality repair: This includes a special focus on encoder alignment and final testing. 

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

Straight to the Source

Join the conversation.

Have a question or didn't quite understand 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 are they going to be faced with in diagnosing it, testing it, 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 there's a very precise encoder device attached to the motor. And also, the rotor of the motor has permanent magnets on it which you won't find on a general-purpose motor. So those are the unique components of the motor.

The real trick is diagnosing those two components on whether they're still usable. So, magnets typically can lose magnetism and the other issue is synchronizing the incremental or absolute encoder device to that rotor so the motor operates properly."

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. Simply search 'Electrical Apparatus' and don't forget to subscribe for future podcasts each month.