how to test servo motors?

[cowanrg]

i have a huge assortment of servo motors im trying to sort through.

all are used and pulled from used (working?) equipment. im trying to just generally see which are good and which arent. some are very nice and were very expensive at one time and would be excellent for CNC. but, with so many different types, i dont want to try getting servo controllers to just test them.

i did find out that the vast majority are brushless DC servo motors. they have a "detent" action when you turn them (some, not all), which i read is characteristic of some brushless motors. most have 4 larger gauge wires (red, black, white, green) and then 5-7 smaller gauge wires. they also have an encoder on the back too, which isnt "connected" or at least it has pin-outs that dont have anything attached to them. as i understand it, its a dual output encoder or something like that... its an HP 5600 A05, and then it says below that, 9812A. almost EVERY motor has the exact same encoder, even the small ones.

and, from what i understand about all these motors, they were used on prototyping machinery within the same company. so, many, if not all should run off of similar servo controllers, but thats just speculation.

anyways, im wanting a quick, dirty, easy way to see IF THEY WORK. thats all for now. i dont need specs, etc. if i understand right, the 4 larger wires are the wires for the motor, and the other 5-7 are for the encoder output. so, how would i go about seeing of the motor turns smoothly with power? i can meter the wires and see which are connected and which arent. i have a bunch of electronics in my basement, and access to a variac, so if i need to create something simple to apply voltages to them, i can do that. at this point i would just rather not buy servo controllers for testing, i have 200+ motors to test. i just want a back to basics way to see if they are a dud or if they work. then, ill go from there.

thanks a lot, i need to get rid of these things, or just sort through them!!!

[Evodyne]

cowanrg,

Ha! I picked up about a hundred servos of various sizes-none of them brushless. Thought I had it bad! Do you have makes and model numbers, etc? That might help.

Evodyne

[cowanrg]

yeah, i have makes and model numbers on most. however, i did some checking and MOST of the companies have been bought out or went under, so finding specs is not really possible.

there must be a way to just drive the motors with a simple DC supply to see if they turn, thats all i want

[Evodyne]

Originally Posted by cowanrg yeah, i have makes and model numbers on most. however, i did some checking and MOST of the companies have been bought out or went under, so finding specs is not really possible.

Yep, been down the same road. Got some nice Reliance/ElectroCraft E-440 servos motors. But they were "aquired" by A-B and the old product line dropped. Can't find specs on these puppies anywhere.

there must be a way to just drive the motors with a simple DC supply to see if they turn, thats all i want

Not with a brushless motor: they are really AC motors where the commutation pulses tell the drive when to switch the voltages. In all honesty you might be better off picking up a drive off eBay and going that route. Unless your satisfied with just knowing that they are commutating properly. Hang tight-I'm sure you get more feedback from others soon.

Evodyne

[ViperTX]

Yes, the brushed ones you can drive with a DC supply....not sure about the brushless ones....I believe they need some sort of commutator control....

[ger21]

Here's a few inexpensive brushless drives

http://search.ebay.com/advanced-motion_W0QQfromZR40