Applications of Servo Motors
Controlling a machine's position and
movement is essential to many systems. As such, servo motors, which apply the
concept of servomechanism, are used. Controlling an aircraft’s tail using your
typical DC motor, as an example, would be almost impossible to control and
position accurately. These types of actions and commands, which require precise
movement, need the precision of servo motors to succeed. Today, we'll be
exploring the different uses hat servo motors have in modern robotics.
Servo Motors in Robotics
Robotics is a field of technology that heavily relies on servomotors. To demonstrate this, imagine a simple robot that picks and places items. It's a simple pick-and-place concept that's used widely in applications such as manufacturing and medicine.
To perform this simple task, however,
precise movement is required. And that's what makes servo motors so useful -
their precision is a vital component in the actuation of joints. This allows
all movements calculated by the software is performed exactly as planned.
The robot's controller can keep on sending
commands with the help of PWM data. This data provides precise control over the
robot's actions and movements; something that isn’t feasible when attempted
using DC monitors. Simple electronics projects are a great way to experience
the application of servo motors firsthand. A simple and fun way to experiment
on servo motors would be either to use Arduino kits or simply get
a servo motor yourself.
Servo Motors in Conveyors
Another particularly helpful use case of
servo motors is their use in both assembly and manufacturing. In particular,
servo motors serve as vital components of the conveyor belts that bring items
to a destination from another location. We can use bottles as an example of
this, as they are filled with their respective liquids before being sent over
to a packaging station.
The conveyor belts are powered to pass
these objects along with the help of servo motors. Working in tandem with the
filling station, the conveyor belt lets the bottles stop at just the right
location. This allows the precise filling of the bottle. The conveyor belt then
moves until the next bottle is ready to be filled, and repeats this process as
necessary.
Servo Motors and the Auto-Focus Function of Cameras
One application you may have not expected
is how digital cameras make use of servo motors. These days, cameras come with
plenty of features; such as automatically change its focus on an object that’s
being captured.
The way this works the object in the
camera's sight is first inspected if it has enough sharpness. If it lacks the
desired sharpness, the camera’s lens is readjusted automatically and precisely
to get the sharpest possible image. This is done, of course, using an
incredibly minuscule and precise servo motor.
Servo Motors in Robotic Vehicles
Robotic vehicles are widely used in complex
and sensitive applications, such as military and industrial applications. These
robotic vehicles primarily used servo motors for the movement of their wheels.
In this case, angular movement isn’t as important as continuous rotation servos
are used. What makes servos useful in robotic vehicles is their capability to
speed up swiftly and then immediately comes to a halt precisely when told to.
This also means that the velocity of the vehicle itself can also be controlled.
Servo Motors and Solar Panel Assistance
Solar power is an important source of power
and is one of the first steps toward clean and renewable energy. Originally,
solar panels were static, meaning that they would be stuck in a single position
all day long. And since the sun’s position changes throughout the day,
traditional solar panels wouldn’t be able to maximize the sun’s power.
Servo motors, in this case, can easily
provide a solution - with solar panels installed on servo motors, the panels
are able to position themselves exactly where they face at any time. The solar
panel's efficiency increases significantly by simply following the path of the
sun.
Both angle control and positioning are
essential in many modern technological applications. The methods discussed here
are some of the most widely-practiced uses of servo motors in technology today.
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