Abstract
Low Cost yet Enhanced Servomotor and Motor Drive Technology Open up New Choices for Application
Developers
Improvements in control techniques and algorithms backed by greater processing power in motor
drives are increasing the functionality, capability, and appeal of servo-based control systems. This
means better control -- and its attendant benefits --of a very wide spectrum of applications. The
development and availability of greater functionality, especially at attractive costs, provide
important potential benefits for application developers of servo systems technology.
This Technical Insights study provides an overview of advances in servomotor and motor drive
technology. It presents technology and applications viewpoints, examines technologies such as
electric servomotors, classified variously as rotary and linear, brushed and brushless; permanent
magnet and induction motors; as well as drive technology and its components including digital signal
controllers. The research service enables companies to align their positioning strategies to benefit
from the emerging technologies.
Technology Integration Enable More Feature-Rich Applications
"Integration at lower levels within the controller increases the number of features and
functions that can be integrated into a single chip," says the analyst of this research
service. "In some controllers, this can be done to a considerable degree, thereby absorbing
many of the functions of the servo drive into a single microchip." Such integration has a huge
impact on the applications. It enables designers building servo applications around the controller
to add and develop more features in them.
Greater numbers of enhanced features enable technology developers to differentiate their
applications, giving them a significant advantage in a competitive market. This has also
increasingly solved problems at the motor level, resulting in improved control of drives.
Improved Functionalities of Servo Control Encourage their Uptake in Untapped Markets
Developments in servomotor and motor drive technology have enhanced the features and
functionalities in applications to such an extent that it is now being considered in areas where its
use was once restricted. Linear motors are especially seeing increasing application in fields that
that were once dominated by traditional and low-cost technologies. The latter are increasingly
yielding to drive technology due to its natural advantages in important operating parameters. Some
advancements in drive technology include improvements in some of the core technologies around which
drives are built, greater digital processing power, performance, and resolution.
A crucial factor that drives adoption of servo technologies is the economic attractiveness of
processing power. This has helped servo technologies match rising demands from end-user industries
and applications. "Servo technology, which found application only in high-cost, advanced
fly-by-wire systems in military aircraft, now replaces hydraulics and pneumatics in applications as
common as automobile power steering," notes the analyst. "For a technology that has always
been characterized as being an expensive, this is a significant step." | 
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