Servomotors are generally used as a high performance alternative to the stepper motor. Stepper motors have some inherent ability to control position, as they have built-in output steps.

This often allows them to be used as an open-loop position control, without any feedback encoder, as their drive signal specifies the number of steps of movement to rotate. This lack of feedback though limits their performance, as the stepper motor can only drive a load that is well within its capacity, otherwise missed steps under load may lead to positioning errors.

The encoder and controller of a servomotor are an additional cost, but they optimize the performance of the overall system (for all of speed, power and accuracy) relative to the capacity of the basic motor. With larger systems, where a powerful motor represents an increasing proportion of the system cost, servomotors have the advantage….

Click here to learn more.