Servo Life? (Futaba FP-S148)
Robert H. Klenke
In article <34195E...@bev.net>, Monta Elkins <mo...@bev.net> writes:
|> I'm using an RC servo (Futaba FP-S148) in an automated device,
|> and I am looking for some idea of the lifespan I can expect.
|>
|> The servo moves about once per second, (I'd guess about
|> 10% duty cycle overall). It is in a clean environment;
|> (an office), no physical shocks, dampeness, or temperature
|> extremes and uses maybe 1 oz-in. of torque.
|>
|> If this device runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
|> does anyone know what the expected life span may be?
|>
|> Should this servo survive decades? years? months?
|>
|> Thanks for any information.
|>
|> -Monta Elkins
|>
I would think that the first thing to wear out would most
likely be the servo potentiometer. Again, I'm guessing that with this
much continuous use and movement, the life expectancy would be best
measured in months and I'd be surprised if it would be more than a year
or so.
I'd be interested if the robotics guys have any more detailed
info on this?
Bob
--
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bob Klenke, Ph.D., Principal Scientist Dept. of Electrical Engineering
University of Virginia
http://csis.ee.virginia.edu/~rhk2j Charlottesville, VA 22903-2442
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monta Elkins
I'm using an RC servo (Futaba FP-S148) in an automated device,
and I am looking for some idea of the lifespan I can expect.
The servo moves about once per second, (I'd guess about
10% duty cycle overall). It is in a clean environment;
(an office), no physical shocks, dampeness, or temperature
extremes and uses maybe 1 oz-in. of torque.
If this device runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
does anyone know what the expected life span may be?
Should this servo survive decades? years? months?
Thanks for any information.
-Monta Elkins
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
"And the world will be better for this: That one man scorned and
covered with scars, still strove with his last ounce of courage;
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System Administrator - Blacksburg Electronic Village - www.bev.net
mo...@bev.net - http://www.bev.net/project/people/monta
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R. M. Odom
The potentiometer will have the shortest life. I would say the answer is
one month, maybe more, maybe less. Design it to use the cheapest servo
money can buy and make it easily replaceable. If occasional downtime is
not acceptable, I would use something else. Would a small solenoid do the
job instead?
Richard
Randy Gardner
Monta Elkins <mo...@bev.net> writes:
> I'm using an RC servo (Futaba FP-S148) in an automated device,
> and I am looking for some idea of the lifespan I can expect.
>
> The servo moves about once per second, (I'd guess about
> 10% duty cycle overall). It is in a clean environment;
> (an office), no physical shocks, dampeness, or temperature
> extremes and uses maybe 1 oz-in. of torque.
>
> If this device runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
> does anyone know what the expected life span may be?
>
> Should this servo survive decades? years? months?
The pot would die before long. (month or two)
Would a stepper and an optical sensor work? I should think so.
What is it being used for?
--
--ran...@slip.net
--Randy Gardner
rwca...@prostar.com
These servos are rated for 100 hours of rotation. The part that
goes first is the motor. The brushes are just pieces of wire and
wear through. All you have to do is measure the ammount of
time (which it looks like you have all ready done) and multiply
out till you get 100 hours. you can expect failure very close
to this mark.
In <34195E...@bev.net>, Monta Elkins <mo...@bev.net> writes:
>I'm using an RC servo (Futaba FP-S148) in an automated device,
>and I am looking for some idea of the lifespan I can expect.
>
>The servo moves about once per second, (I'd guess about
>10% duty cycle overall). It is in a clean environment;
>(an office), no physical shocks, dampeness, or temperature
>extremes and uses maybe 1 oz-in. of torque.
>
>If this device runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
>does anyone know what the expected life span may be?
>
>Should this servo survive decades? years? months?
>
Randy Gardner
In <34195E...@bev.net>, Monta Elkins <mo...@bev.net> writes:
> I'm using an RC servo (Futaba FP-S148) in an automated device,
> and I am looking for some idea of the lifespan I can expect.
>
> The servo moves about once per second, (I'd guess about
> 10% duty cycle overall). It is in a clean environment;
> extremes and uses maybe 1 oz-in. of torque.
>
> If this device runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
> does anyone know what the expected life span may be?
>
> Should this servo survive decades? years? months?
1-2 Months.
As I may have said before, what is wrong with a stepper and a home
sensor? (Slot, reflective, magnetic, hall, etc....)
The lifespan would be virtually unlimited!
However, a magnetic sensor would die, and optical sensors would either
need cleaning, or would need to be in a dust-tight place. Hall sensors
would last virtually forever, but might take a few chips more to use.
What is it for?
--
--ran...@slip.net
--Randy Gardner
K. C. Lee
Randy Gardner (ran...@slip.net) writes:
> need cleaning, or would need to be in a dust-tight place. Hall sensors
> would last virtually forever, but might take a few chips more to use.
There are hall effect sensors that have logic level outputs. They are
used in floppy drives index hole detection, DC brushless motors in small
DC fans etc.
> --ran...@slip.net
K. C. Lee
Werner Neubauer
Monta Elkins wrote:
>
> I'm using an RC servo (Futaba FP-S148) in an automated device,
> and I am looking for some idea of the lifespan I can expect.
>
> The servo moves about once per second, (I'd guess about
> 10% duty cycle overall). It is in a clean environment;
> extremes and uses maybe 1 oz-in. of torque.
>
> If this device runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
> does anyone know what the expected life span may be?
>
> Should this servo survive decades? years? months?
>
>
> -Monta Elkins
I 've built a pipe climbing robot with legs powered by Futuba servos
FP-S125. Some infos are at
http://www.fzi.de/divisions/ipt/WMC/preface/node86.html .
The servos are doing their hard job since 1994. The metal gears
are still fine, but the potentiometers got bad after one year.
I clean them (!) from time to time and the robot control can handle
jumps in the position signal of about 90 degree. So the robot climbs
and climbs. :-)
Werner Neubauer