If you have Rexroth or Indramat servos in your manufacturing plant, it’s tempting to think of them in two ways—on and off. If the servo is working and on, everything is fine. If it’s not working and is off, you’ve got a big problem.
Actually, servomotors, and servomechanisms in general, have a lot more going on than those bare bones.
Servos bring logic to motors. Instead of simply being on (so they run and provide force for work) or off (so they don’t run and don’t cause actions), motors can be combined with multiple sensors in complex ways that allow them to use if/then rules to do all kinds of things.
That’s the beauty of the servomechanism.
Brain of the servo
Servo drives, then, can be thought of as the brain of the servo. They need to be protected in cabinets that aren’t subjected to heat, humidity, dust, and other debris that can interfere with their processes. The servo drive is in some ways like your brain, protected inside of a skull.
The cables connecting the drive to the motors are in a more vulnerable state. Cables can become disconnected, can break and fray, or even get sliced in two by accident. Be sure you have spares, just in case. Cables are like nerves, sending feedback back and forth. Just like human nerves, they can send back confusing signals if something gets out of whack.
Servomotors are typically pretty tough and may be out on the floor. Some servomotors can get dirty, dusty, and wet, while others don’t like being exposed to grime. In the metaphorical model we’re using, a servomotor is something like your hands—able to take some exposure but still needing to be taken care of properly.
Whether your servo’s brain, fingers, or connections are the problem, we can isolate it and resolve errors when you don’t know why your servo isn’t working.