servomechanism

Industrial servomotor
The grey/green cylinder is the brush-type DC motor. The black section at the bottom contains the planetary reduction gear, and the black object atop the motor is the optical rotary encoder for position feedback. This is the steering actuator of a large robot vehicle.

Disassembled RC servomechanism

A servomechanism, or servo is an automatic device that uses error-sensing feedback to correct the performance of a mechanism. The term correctly applies only to systems where the feedback or error-correction signals help control mechanical position or other parameters. For example, an automotive power window control is not a servomechanism, as there is no automatic feedback that controls position—the operator does this by observation. By contrast the car's cruise control uses closed loop feedback, which classifies it as a servomechanism.

A servomechanism is unique among control systems in that it controls a parameter by commanding the time-based derivative of that parameter. For example, a servomechanism controlling position must be capable of changing the velocity of the system because the time-based derivative (rate change) of position is velocity. A hydraulic actuator controlled by a spool valve and a position sensor is a good example because the velocity of the actuator is proportional to the error signal of the position sensor.

Servomechanism may or may not use a servomotor. For example, a household furnace controlled by thermostat is a servomechanism, yet there is no motor being controlled directly by the servomechanism.

A common type of servo provides position control. Servos are commonly electrical or partially electronic in nature, using an electric motor as the primary means of creating mechanical force. Other types of servos use hydraulics, pneumatics, or magnetic principles. Usually, servos operate on the principle of negative feedback, where the control input is compared to the actual position of the mechanical system as measured by some sort of transducer at the output. Any difference between the actual and wanted values (an "error signal") is amplified and used to drive the system in the direction necessary to reduce or eliminate the error. This procedure is one widely used application of control theory.

Servomechanisms were first used in military fire-control and marine navigation equipment. Today servomechanisms are used in automatic machine tools, satellite-tracking antennas, remote control airplanes, automatic navigation systems on boats and planes, and antiaircraft-gun control systems. Other examples are fly-by-wire systems in aircraft which use servos to actuate the aircraft's control surfaces, and radio-controlled models which use RC servos for the same purpose. Many autofocus cameras also use a servomechanism to accurately move the lens, and thus adjust the focus. A modern hard disk drive has a magnetic servo system with sub-micrometre positioning accuracy.

Typical servos give a rotary (angular) output. Linear types are common as well, using a screw thread or a linear motor to give linear motion.

Another device commonly referred to as a servo is used in automobiles to amplify the steering or braking force applied by the driver. However, these devices are not true servos, but rather mechanical amplifiers. (See also Power steering or Vacuum servo.)

In industrial machines, servos are used to perform complex motion.

History

James Watt's steam engine governor is generally considered the first powered feedback system. The windmill fantail is an earlier example of automatic control, but since it does not have an amplifier or gain, it is not usually considered a servomechanism.

The first feedback position control device was the ship steering engine, used to position the rudder of large ships based on the position of the ship's wheel. This technology was first used on the SS Great Eastern in 1866. Steam steering engines had the characteristics of a modern servomechanism: an input, an output, an error signal, and a means for amplifying the error signal used for negative feedback to drive the error towards zero.

Electrical servomechanisms require a power amplifier. World War II saw the development of electrical fire-control servomechanisms, using an amplidyne as the power amplifier. Vacuum tube amplifiers were used in the UNISERVO tape drive for the UNIVAC I computer.

Modern servomechanisms use solid state power amplifiers, usually built from MOSFET or thyristor devices. Small servos may use power transistors.

The origin of the word is believed to come from the French “Le Servomoteur” or the slavemotor, first used by J. J. L. Farcot in 1868 to describe hydraulic and steam engines for use in ship steering. ^[1]

RC servos

Small R/C servo mechanism
1. electric motor
2. position feedback potentiometer
3. reduction gear
4. actuator arm

RC servos are hobbyist remote control devices servos typically employed in radio-controlled models, where they are used to provide actuation for various mechanical systems such as the steering of a car, the flaps on a plane, or the rudder of a boat.

RC servos are composed of an electric motor mechanically linked to a potentiometer. Pulse-width modulation (PWM) signals sent to the servo are translated into position commands by electronics inside the servo. When the servo is commanded to rotate, the motor is powered until the potentiometer reaches the value corresponding to the commanded position.

Due to their affordability, reliability, and simplicity of control by microprocessors, RC servos are often used in small-scale robotics applications.

The servo is controlled by three wires: ground (usually black/orange), power (red) and control (brown/other colour). This wiring sequence is not true for all servos, for example the S03NXF Std. Servo is wired as brown (negative), red (positive) and orange (signal). The servo will move based on the pulses sent over the control wire, which set the angle of the actuator arm. The servo expects a pulse every 20 ms in order to gain correct information about the angle. The width of the servo pulse dictates the range of the servo's angular motion.

A servo pulse of 1.5 ms width will set the servo to its "neutral" position, or 90°. For example a servo pulse of 1.25 ms could set the servo to 0° and a pulse of 1.75 ms could set the servo to 180°. The physical limits and timings of the servo hardware varies between brands and models, but a general servo's angular motion will travel somewhere in the range of 180° - 210° and the neutral position is almost always at 1.5 ms.

RC Servos are usually powered from either NiCd or NiMH packs common to most RC devices. More recently these systems are powered by Lithium Polymer (LiPo) packs or LiFePO4 packs. Voltage ratings vary from product to product, but most servos are operated at 4.8 V or 6 V DC from a 4 or 5 cell NiCd or NiMH battery, or a regulated LiPo pack.

See also

• Motion control
• Fractional horsepower motors
• Synchro, a form of transmitter and receiver motor used in servomechanisms
• Stepper motor – a similar brushless, synchronous electric motor that can divide a full rotation into a large number of steps

References

External links

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations where appropriate. (April 2009)

• Rane Pro Audio Reference definition of "servo-loop"
• Seattle Robotics Society's "What is a Servo?"
• Community-based project for creating a low-cost digital servo
• Servo Tutorial for Robotics
• Tutorial on how to modify a servo for full 360 degree rotation
• Database of specifications for numerous RC servos