General Servo Systems

What is a Servo?
Servo control, which is also referred to as "motion control" or "robotics" is used in industrial processes to move a specific load in a controlled fashion. These systems can use either pneumatic, hydraulic, or electromechanical actuation technology. The choice of the actuator type (i.e. the device that provides the energy to move the load) is based on power, speed, precision, and cost requirements. Electromechanical systems are typically used in high precision, low to medium power, and high-speed applications. These systems are flexible, efficient, and cost-effective. Motors are the actuators used in electromechanical systems. Through the interaction of electromagnetic fields, they generate power. These motors provide either rotary or linear motion. Here is a graphical representation of a typical servo system:

This type of system is a feedback system, which is used to control position, velocity, and/or acceleration. The and some of our digital drives contain the algorithms to close the desired loop (typically position or velocity) handle machine interfacing with inputs/outputs, terminals, etc. The drive or amplifier closes another loop (typ velocity or current) and represents the electrical power converter that drives the motor according to the contro reference signals. The motor can be of the brushed or brushless type, rotary or linear. The motor is the actual electromagnetic actuator, which generates the forces required to move the load. Feedback elements such as ta lvdts, encoders and resolvers, are mounted on the motor and/or load in order to close the various servo loops.

Advanced Motion Controls designs and manufacturers servo drives and amplifiers for use in servo systems. S drives and amplifiers are used extensively in motion control systems where precise control of position and/or required. The drive/amplifier simply translates the low-energy reference signals from the controller into high signals to provide motor voltage and current. In some cases the use of a digital drive replaces the controller/d controller/amplifier control system. The reference signals represent either a motor torque or a velocity comm can be either analog or digital in nature. An analog +/-10 VDC command is still the most common reference use today.

Advanced Motion Controls has representatives worldwide that sell and support our servo drives and amplifie complementing motion control components to meet all of your servo control needs. To find out more about s control visit the Motion 101 section of our website or if you want to ask specific questions about your moti system call one of our applications engineers at 805-389-1935.

Controller

The controller is the "brains" of a servo system. It is responsible for generating the motion paths and for reac changes in the outside environment. Controllers can be something as simple as an ON/OFF switch or a dial controlled by an operator. They can also be as complex as a multi-axis controller that actively servos several as well as monitors I/O and maintains all of the programming for the machine.

The block diagram below shows the general role of a controller in a servo system. Typically, the controller se signal to the drive; the drive provides power to the motor; and the feedback from the motor is sent back to the controller and drive. Feedback from the load is also routed to the controller. The controller analyzes the feedb signal and sends a new signal to the amplifier to correct for errors. The controller is considered to be the intel part of the servo, closing the velocity and/or position loops while the amplifier closes the current loop. Howe many amplifiers will close the velocity and/or position loops allowing less demand from the controller.

Physical Forms of Controllers

Controllers come in a variety of forms, which people choose based on cost, performance, convenience, and e use. Most controllers fall into the category of Microcontrollers, PLCs, and Motion Controllers. Each is descri below.

Microcontrollers
This is a small and low-cost type of computer that runs a program stored in non-volatile memory. Configuring a microcontroller for a system generally requires an experienced programmer, and closing loops such as position and velocity can be quite difficult. Often, when one designs a servo system using a microcontroller, one will have the amplifier/drive close the desired loops, while the microcontroller simply sends particular commands back to the amplifier. These commands may be dependent on inputs into the microcontroller (sensors, switches, etc).

PLCs
In the late 1960s, Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) were first used to eliminate the mess of wires and troubleshooting nightmares associated with sequential relay circuits. PLCs can take the place of mechanical relays, which have limited lifetimes. These controllers are more expensive than microcontrollers, but with good reason. PLCs have a processor and memory to allow for commands to be programmed, saved and executed. It also has a rack and I/O slots so that I/O modules may be added to the PLC as needed. The modules may add such features as high-speed counters, real-time clocks, or servo control capabilities.

The benefits of PLCs include expandability and resistance to harsh environments. The price is generally lowe that of motion controllers.

Motion Controllers

Motion controllers are built specifically for the control of motion (hence the name). Therefore commands and I/O are specific to the needs of those in the servo industry. Unlike the others, motion controllers are PC based, allowing for a graphical user interface. Usually, there are advanced features that allow ease of tuning, commutation sensing, and other fun A motion controller, in general, will make your life easier than a PLC or microcontroller. Because of the add features, they are typically more expensive.

Other Types of control

Other types of control include CANopen, Synqnet, USB, and RS232 and many more which allow you to con motor by connecting the amplifier directly (or almost directly) to your computer. The computer runs software which allows you to control a multitude of features.

Drive

The servo drive is the link between the controller and Also referred to as servo amplifiers, their job is to tra the low energy reference signals from the controller i high energy power signals to the motor. Originally, d were simply the power stage that allowed a controller drive a motor. They started out as single quadrant mo that powered brushed motors. Later they incorporated quadrant capabilities and the ability to power brushle motors. Four quadrant means the ability to both drive regenerate a motor in both directions.

The current trend is to add more features and abilities to drives. Today drives can be expected to handle all o system feedback including encoders, resolvers and tachometers, as well as limit switches and other sensors. D are also being asked to close the torque loop, velocity loop and position loop and being given the responsibili path generation. As the line between controller and drive blurs, the drive will take on many of the more comp control functions that used to be the sole domain of the controller.

The path to the future of drive technology will follow the demands of the motion control industry. These dem include:

Higher bandwidth to increase production throughput. Increased velocity and position control to allow for more intricate and miniaturized manufacturing. Increased network capability to closely coordinate axes within a machine and coordinate machines w factory. Simplified, user-friendly and universal operation.

Motor

The motor converts the current and voltage that comes from the drive into mechanical motion. Most motors are rotary types but linear motors are also available. There are many types of motors that can be used in servo applicati

The following list of motors types can be used in servo applications. For mor complete information see 'AMC's Capabilities'.

Single Phase
Picture Here

Single phase motors have two power wires and are very easy to set up. Moto this category can include brushed motors, inductive loads and voice coils. Amplifiers designed for brushed motors are typically used to drive single pha loads although, most three phase drives from AMC can also operate with sin

Brush Linear Actuator Voice Coil

Magnetic Bearing

Inductive Load

phase. The most common single phase motor. The brushes are a form of mechanica commutation that directs the current into the correct coils at the correct time. Linear actuators use a rotary motor coupled to a gear box to move a linear sh and out. The motor in the actuator is often times a brushed motor. A voice coil is conceptually similar to an audio speaker. Motion is linear and usually limited to less than 0.5" (13mm) of travel. Many voice coil applicatio require a high performance servo drive and Advanced Motion Controls is oft first choice. Magnetic bearings are used when low friction is required or when the shaft s are too high for conventional bearings. Magnetic bearings use electromagnet levitate the rotating shaft so nothing is physically touching it. A typical magn bearing system will require 4 or 5 drives - an x and y on each side of the rota shaft and an optional thrust bearing to keep the shaft from floating in and out performance requirements for the drives can be extremely high due to the dy nature of the system. Inductive loads are often used by universities and scientists to create magneti for their experiments. Advanced Motion Controls drives have successfully controlled inductive loads with less than 80uH of inductance to over 1H (1000000uH) of inductance. There are special considerations for the energy s in a large inductor, and our technical support department would be happy to d these regarding your project.

Three Phase
Brushless Rotary

Linear

Permanent magnet brushless servo motors have higher power density, better dissipation and require less maintenance than brushed motors. Brushless mot may be a little more difficult to set up due to the increased wiring so our digi makes things easier by automating the commutation process. The construction of a linear motor is the same as a rotary motor but opened u flattened out. Configuring a drive for a linear motor is identical to configurin drive for a rotary motor. Linear motors are used in direct drive applications w the speed and accuracy requirements are more than a rotary motor and ball sc can provide.

Load Considerations

Load considerations should include the object that is being moved, the moving par the machine and anything that may cause unwanted instabilities such as couplings backlash. The total mass of the moving parts in the machine all have inertias that w reflected onto the motor. Friction points such as from linear stages and bearings w to the motor load. Flexible couplings will add resonances that have to be considere

Feedback

In modern control systems, feedback devices are used to ensure that the moto load reaches the commanded position or velocity. Servo amplifiers and contr use this feedback to determine how much current to deliver to the motor at a time, based on its present position and velocity versus where it needs to be. T are two main types of feedback, absolute and relative (also known as increm only). Absolute Feedback Relative Feedback (incremental)

Absolute devices provide definitive position within a specified range withou movement (without a homing routine). These devices provide only incremental position updates. In order to know th motor or loads position, this incremental feedback needs to be used in conju with some type of absolute feedback (a limit switch, for example).

Within these two general types of feedback, there are many different feedbac devices. Here are some of the devices most commonly used in motion contro

Feedback Types
Quadrature Encoder Sinusoidal Encoder Hall Sensors Resolver

Encoders are the most prevalent position feedback device in motion control. encoders can go to sub-micron resolutions and rotary encoders can have reso exceeding 100,000 counts per revolution. Sinusoidal encoders use sine waves in place of the square waves seen on qua encoders. This allows intermediate encoder counts can be interpolated to ove times. This is a low resolution feedback that is often necessary for commutation con This can also be used for velocity feedback at higher velocities. A resolver is essentially a rotary transformer. This feedback is capable of resolutions above 16bit. Resolvers are the feedback of choice for high tempe and high vibration environment.

Motion Profiles

All servo systems consist of some kind of movement of a load method in which the load is moved is known as the motion pr motion profile can be as simple as a movement from point A B on a single axis, or as complex as bipedal stability control o axis humanoid robot. An example move is shown in figure 1 The Y-axis represents the velocity, while the X-axis represent The total distance traveled, D, is found by calculating the area the curve. T is the total time required for the move. All motio profiles will require the load to accelerate and decelerate at le once during the move. In figure 1, the slope of the velocity curve represents the acceleration or deceleration a particular instant.

There are several types of motion profiles used with servo control systems. The most often used are Constant Velocity, Trapezoidal, and S-Curve motion profiles.

Constant Velocity

Just as it sounds, this motion profile maintains a constant velocity between points (see figure 2A). This is the basic motion profile because only a velocity command is necessary to operate.

Precision positioning machines do not use the constant velocity profile because of the delay errors involved. most significant error deals with the fact that it is impossible to jump from a zero velocity to some other velo instantaneously because it would require an infinite amount of energy to do so. Because of this, there will be delay that will fluctuate with changes in the load and system. In figure 2B, the dotted line represents the actu velocity path the load will take due to energy limitations. Ta and Td represent the time required to accelerate decelerate. These delays add to the projected move time.

Another error involved is minor compared to the effects of Ta and Td, and can often be overlooked. This erro involves overshoot at the edges of the move. This stems from the fact that the acceleration cannot change instantaneously. During acceleration, at the instant the velocity reaches the desired value, the acceleration mu suddenly drop to zero. Because it cannot, there is some overshoot as the velocity increases past the desired po before attenuating. Similarly, there is some overshoot as the acceleration goes from zero to a negative value d the slowing down period. This overshoot translates into small vibrations seen at the load.

Trapezoidal

A trapezoidal motion profile is shown in figure 3. To avoid the effects of Ta and Td seen in the constant velo motion profile, the trapezoidal motion profile slopes the velocity curve to create known acceleration and deceleration times. The result is a slower, but much more predictable move. Ta and Td still exist, but are now known instead of random values. If ta = td = T/3 for a trapezoidal move profile, the overall power used is a minimum:

Overshoot error still exists for a trapezoidal move. However, many systems do not need to take it into accoun because it is negligible. Still, higher precision machines require a different motion profile.

S-Curve

The S-curve motion profile allows for a gradual change in acceleration. This helps to reduce or eliminate the problems caused from overshoot, and the result is a great deal less mechanical vibration seen by the system. minimum acceleration points occur at the beginning and end of the acceleration period, while the maximum acceleration occurs between these two points. This gives a motion profile that is fast and accurate.

THE CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL SYSTEM A closed-loop control system is another name for a servo system. To be classified as a servo, a control system must be capable of the following: 1. Accepting an order that defines the desired result 2. Determining the present conditions by some method of feedback 3. Comparing the desired result with the present conditions and obtaining a difference or an error signal 4. Issuing a correcting order (the error signal) that will properly change the existing conditions to the desired result 5. Obeying the correcting order We

have discussed the open- and closed-loop control systems and defined a servo system as a closed-loop control system. Although not technically accurate by definition, open-loop control systems are also often referred to in the Navy and many publications as servo systems even though they lack one of the five basic requirements, that of feedback.
Soft Servo Systems, Inc., is a pioneer in providing all-software, high-end motion control solutions for industrial machine builders and users. Founded by MIT professionals in 1998, Soft Servo Systems is committed to providing high-performing yet affordable and reliable general motion control (GMC) and CNC solutions to our customers by exploiting the high-speed, everimproving CPUs of personal computers. With our products, the PC performs all real-time motion control operations including feedback loops and multi-axis coordination. It also serves as a user-friendly graphical interface (Windows), can be connected to a network, used to store motion programs, and run other applications like database software, spreadsheet programs, or statistical process control applications.