What runs smoother steppers or servo?

[Apples]

SO what runs smoother stepper or servo assuming comparing to say geckodrive 202 or viper and a g320drive?

[CoAMarcus]

In the FAQ located at the top of the page, it has a list of stepper and servo advantages and disadvantages. Here it is just for reference:

Step motors and servo motors service similar applications, ones where precise positioning and speed are required.

The biggest difference is that steppers are operated "open loop". This means there is no feedback required from the motor. You send a step pulse to the drive and take on faith it will be executed. Seems like a problem but it's not.

If you have a quartz watch with hour and minute hands, then you have a step motor on your wrist. The electronics generates 1 step pulse per second, driving a 60 step per revolution motor which turns at 1 RPM. It keeps nearly perfect time. Any errors are due entirely to the electronics timing accuracy (quartz crystal oscillator).

Top Ten Stepper Advantages:

1) Stable. Can drive a wide range of frictional and inertial loads.
2) Needs no feedback. The motor is also the position transducer.
3) Inexpensive relative to other motion control systems.
4) Standardized frame size and performance.
5) Plug and play. Easy to setup and use.
6) Safe. If anything breaks, the motor stops.
7) Long life. Bearings are the only wear-out mechanism.
8) Excellent low speed torque. Can drive many loads without gearing.
9) Excellent repeatability. Returns to the same location accurately.
10) Overload safe. Motor cannot be damaged by mechanical overload.

Top Ten DC Servo Advantages:

1) High output power relative to motor size and weight.
2) Encoder determines accuracy and resolution.
3) High efficiency. Can approach 90% at light loads.
4) High torque to inertia ratio. Can rapidly accelerate loads.
5) Has "reserve" power. 2-3 times continuous power for short periods.
6) Has "reserve" torque. 5-10 times rated torque for short periods.
7) Motor stays cool. Current draw proportional to load.
8) Usable high speed torque. Maintains rated torque to 90% of NL RPM
9) Audibly quiet at high speeds.
10) Resonance and vibration free operation.

Top Ten Stepper Disadvantages:

1) Low efficiency. Motor draws substantial power regardless of load.
2) Torque drops rapidly with speed (torque is the inverse of speed).
3) Low accuracy. 1:200 at full load, 1:2000 at light loads.
4) Prone to resonance. Requires micro-stepping to move smoothly.
5) No feedback to indicate missed steps.
6) Low torque to inertia ratio. Cannot accelerate loads very rapidly.
7) Motor gets very hot in high performance configurations.
8) Motor will not "pick up" after momentary overload.
9) Motor is audibly very noisy at moderate to high speeds.
10) Low output power for size and weight.

Top Ten DC Servo (brush type) Disadvantages (besides higher relative cost):

1) Requires "tuning" to stabilize feedback loop.
2) Motor "runs away" when something breaks. Safety circuits required.
3) Complex. Requires encoder.
4) Brush wear limits life to 2,000 hrs. Service is then required.
5) Peak torque is limited to a 1% duty cycle.
6) Motor can be damaged by sustained overload.
7) Bewildering choice of motors, encoders, servo drives.
8) Power supply current 10 times average to use peak torque. See (5).
9) Motor develops peak power at higher speeds. Gearing often required.
10) Poor motor cooling. Ventilated motors are easily contaminated.

Q.) Should I use servos or steppers in my machine?

A.) If you are designing a machine and you get to motors, the first thing you should do is calculate the power you need. Never buy a motor (stepper or servo) first and then figure out if it will fit what you need.

Motors are motors. They couple power to your mechanism and power is what makes things happen. The choice of a motor comes after you know what's needed.

Power is velocity times force or torque times RPM. It doesn't matter if the motors are steppers, servos or a gerbil in a spinning squirrel cage at the start.

To separate what motor need (neglect the gerbil), is the power your mechanism needs.

Rule #1: If you need 100 Watts or less, use a step motor. If you need 200 Watts or more, you must use a servo. In between, either will do.

So, how do you figure the power you need?

Method 1: You have a plasma table, wood router or some other low work-load mechanism. You have a clear idea of how many IPM you want but you’re not sure of what force you want at that speed.

Pick the weight of the heaviest item you are pushing around. If it weighs 40lbs, use 40lbs. multiply it by the IPM you want. Say that's 1,000 IPM. Divide the result by the magic number "531". The answer is 75.3 Watts so use a step motor.

Eq: Watts = IPM * Lbs / 531


Method 2: You have a Bridgeport CNC conversion you are doing. The machine has a 5 TPI screw and you need a work feed rate of 120 IPM. 120 IPM on a 5TPI screw 5 * 120 or 600 RPM.

How about force? Not a clue? Use your machinist's experience on a manual machine. The hand crank is about 6" inches in diameter. How much force would you place on the hand crank before you figure you're not doing something right? I hear about 10 Lbs.

10 Lbs is 160 oz, 160 oz on the end of a 3" moment-arm (6" diameter, remember?) is 480 in-oz (3 times 160) of torque on the leadscrew.

The equation for rotary power is: Watts = in-oz * RPM / 1351

For this example, Watts = 480 in-oz * 600 RPM / 1351 or 213 Watts.

213 Watts is servo territory. You have to use a servo motor to get that, about a NEMA-34 one.

-Marcus

[Al_The_Man]

I don't know what quality of brush servo's that is referenced there, that are only getting 2000hrs of brush life, I know of some older CNC systems that have typically run at least 10yrs between brush change.
You will probably find that the most demands placed on steppers or servo's is the accel/decal rate, if not designed for the correct motor to load inertia ratio, you may be able to function with the present load and side forces, no problem, until you try and increase to a higher desirable accel/decel rate, steppers will miss steps and servo's will go into current limit.
The system has to be designed with this desirable rate in mind.
There are a lot of manuf sizing programs that will calculate the inertia ratio to suit the desired rate.
Al.

[Mariss Freimanis]

What's referenced is how long will the brushes last at the maximum continuous torque rating. Brushes easily last 10,000 hours when motor load is light or the motor is unloaded. The 10,000+ hour number reflects mechanical wear while the 2,000 hour number shows the effect of arc-erosion on the brushes.

Mariss