Topic > Servo motors: the first step towards the robot

These devices are considered one of the raw materials in the design and construction of robots. If we combine and manage movements in an appropriate mechanical assembly, a variable group of servo motors can provide traction and locomotion to locally or remotely controlled systems. From small educational applications to the most complex robotic design. The limits are your imagination and your desire to learn. "Give me a point of support and I will move the world", Archimedes of Syracuse would have said, perhaps driven by unbridled enthusiasm for his discovery of the law of the lever. From there the history of simple machines begins, and the device that we will see and apply today in this article is a good example of it. A servomotor is basically a mechanical actuator based on a motor and a series of gears that allow the torque of the final system to be multiplied, equipped with control elements to constantly monitor the position of a mechanical element that will act as a connection with the outside world. That is to say, before an electronically induced action on a servo motor, we will obtain a controlled mechanical response as a result. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayFor example, the motors that are part of a printer, together with the systems that control paper advance or retraction, form a servo motor. A classic servo motor from a recognized brand and for simple applications Applications of these slave systems can be seen mainly in model aeronautics and robotics, but are not exclusive to these uses. Any system requiring precise and controlled mechanical positioning will depend on a servo system or servomechanism, driven, of course, by a servo motor. The zoom of a camera, the autofocus of an optical unit, a surveillance camera mobilization system and even the automatic doors of an elevator are simple examples of its application. The engine has the characteristic of running at a good speed, which is decreased by the gears of the gearbox which exploit this speed to transform it into a working force. Rotating the last gear coupled to the output shaft results in a significantly reduced speed, despite the fact that the motor rotates at high speeds within the system. Block diagram of the internal structure of a servo motor Furthermore, in this last coupling wheel we will find stops or travel limits to provide a 180° rotation of the actuator arm in the final output. In most servo motors, this angular displacement is "copied" by a potentiometer built into the control system and mechanically attached to the external axis. This resistive sensor will have the task of informing the system of the position of the external actuator to precisely check that the positioning instruction sent is faithfully executed. Connecting a servo The connections are very simple and are based on a very basic color adjustment which involves Red as the positive of the main power supply, together with another cable which can be Black or Brown and which, logically, we can deduce that it treat negative nutrition. A third wire, corresponding to the positioning control of the mechanical actuator, is Yellow or White. In the first image you can see the Red - Black and Yellow color set for connection in HITEC brand servomotors. The working voltage of servomotors is usually between 3 and 7 Volts, of which 5 Volts is the voltage used in the majority of fixed applications in which a power supply connected to the domestic electrical network is involved and 6 Volts for cases of battery power when these are mobile devices..