Servo Motor Encoder Repair to Avoid Silence
Silence might be golden but it’s noise that pays the bills. Those sounds coming from your shop floor – equipment running, machines cutting, conveyors rolling, that’s the sound of making money. And every manufacturer understands that since the industrial revolution, manufacturing equipment has been keeping the lights burning, spurring growth, and making investors happy.
It stands to reason that the performance and availability of that manufacturing equipment is nothing short of critical. And when machinery is off-line for unscheduled repairs or is operating at less than full capacity, money is lost. As a result, more manufacturers are accelerating their plans to bring equipment diagnosis and even repair in house. And for a growing number of companies, this means servo motors.
Servo Motor Encoder Problems
As production equipment has become increasingly sophisticated and automated, servo motors have evolved to take on a leading role. Servo motors continue to find their way into more areas of manufacturing including robotics and CNC machine tools. And when one of these motors isn’t running, neither is the equipment.
Because servo motors often operate under heavy workloads and in harsh manufacturing environments, they can be subjected to a variety of conditions that will affect their performance. For a more detailed look at why servo motors fail read this blog post: Does my Servo Motor Need Repair?
A servo control system consists of a handful of primary components: a DC servo motor, driver, controller, and encoder. Any of these components can fail, but encoder failures can be particularly difficult to identify.
An encoder detects the rotation angle, speed, and travel distance of a moving machine part and sends positional feedback to the controller. And one of the most overlooked causes of motor overheating is due to a misalignment of the encoder. Encoder alignment and other servo motor parameters can be easily diagnosed with the right tools.
Servo Motor Encoder Repair
Manufacturers approach servo motor repair in many ways. While some opt to return the motor to the manufacturer or to a repair shop, others treat the issue in-house. This saves time and costs – both direct repair costs and lost revenue associated with excessive downtime.
In a manufacturing environment it’s best to confirm a problem by first diagnosing the failing component, before making the decision to send it out for repair. Because of this, more manufacturers are equipping themselves to diagnose servo motor issues. Manufacturers are often frustrated by recurring problems after reinstalling a recently repaired servo motor in a machine. It may be that the servo motor was never faulty, and another component should have been sent out for repair. It may also be that the servo motor was not properly repaired. Servo testing tools allow the servo to be tested and validated before repair and before returning to operation.
Diagnosing Servo Motor Problems
Mitchell Electronics, Inc. provides the tools to quickly identify servo motor issues. The company’s products are installed in manufacturing plants around the world and used by in-house technical staff to test, diagnose, and repair a wide range of servo and/or encoder failures. This eliminates guesswork and allows repair or replacement to focus on the faulty component.
The company also provides valuable technical assistance and training to companies who are interested in implementing an in-house servo / encoder maintenance and repair program. Manufacturing facilities use Mitchell products to:
Diagnose factory failures.
Mitchell offers a universal servo motor test system which supports over 180 motor manufacturers and over 120 different feedback models including incremental encoders, absolute encoders, serial encoders, and resolvers. The system dramatically reduces the cost required to buy various test systems and drives that are required for each servomotor / encoder type. Similarly, a single set up and procedure for testing saves significant repair time, technician training time, and reduces errors.
Implement a repeatable process.
The company’s 12 step test procedure enables technicians to work on most major brands while utilizing a single and consistent repair process, regardless of brand, which eliminates the multitude of test procedures required for testing different motor types. This also simplifies the process of technician cross training and enables rapid onboarding of new employees in case of turnover.
Save significant time.
Mitchell’s technology allows manufacturers to align encoders electronically completely alleviating the need to physically change the encoder position, resulting in dramatically increased repair speed, accuracy, and quality.
Program blank encoders.
With the ability to read and program several different models of serial encoders, Mitchell Electronics, Inc. eliminates the time and expense associated with contacting and working through manufacturers and OEMs to acquire necessary programming information to complete the repair.
Ensure in-house program success.
Mitchell Electronics, Inc’s experienced technical team provides expert support and on-line training based on years of experience and a wealth of servomotor and encoder knowledge. We provide quick answers to cabling, software, alignment, and other questions for over 180 motor manufacturers and 300 motor cables. Training is offered remotely via video to reach customers throughout the world, saving travel costs, and promoting better learning through shorter more frequent sessions.
Keeping Servo Repair In-House
Manufacturers invest heavily in equipment with an eye to improving efficiency, production, and the bottom line. And servos are the heart and brain that provide the repeatability and reliable precision that allows these companies to leverage automation.
It’s only natural that manufacturers would want to be able to quickly respond to issues related to servo motors and encoders. Because of this more of these companies are supplementing in-house technical resources with the necessary tools to identify and in many cases fix servo motor and encoder problems.