Servo motors work by moving things to a precisely defined position and stopping. Usually they do this over and over. Stopping is one of their important tasks.
But just stopping and staying stopped is not what you want from a servo motor.
What can cause a servo motor to stop?
Maybe it’s broken.
A broken servo motor often announces its problems with loud noises, smoke, and maybe some sparks. Overuse, overheating, and general overage account for a lot of broken servos, and all these problems can involve some dramatic effects.
A servo motor that just stops as though it has been unplugged may also be broken.
Check your cable.
If your servo quits working and there’s no drama, check the cable before you order a new servo motor. A cable may wear out, get damaged, or even just become unplugged for one reason or another. Over a period of years — and many of the servos we see have been in service for decades — a cable can easily get moved or worn out. The connection may falter, but it can keep working pretty well until one day it just doesn’t. If today is that day, we can sell you a new cable for a small fraction of the cost of a new servo motor.
How’s that programming?
Programming doesn’t usually change in the middle of the day without warning. Nonetheless, it makes sense to check the parameters before you buy a new servo motor.
In fact, when it comes to servo motors that aren’t working, new is often not what you need. Factory repair or reman will give you a like-new servo at a bargain rate.
Rexroth electric industrial servo motors can be fully serviced in the factory. All wearing parts will be replaced, and you may benefit from tech updates that have happened while your servo has been hard at work all these years.