I'm looking for a small servo motor and drive combo and I'm just not having much luck.
I think I sold myself on yaskawa, but the few companies I've reached out to either will get back to me with a quote(it's friday, i get it) or haven't been helpful. I asked one company about driver dimensions and was told to google it...

So I figured I'd see if anybody had any opinions or suggestions.

I've heard the ebay seller industrialpartsshop is a good source but I'm nervous about pairing the correct motors and drives, since they sell them separate, although I haven't asked to see if they'll help with that yet.

I would definitely consider other brands, but yaskawa and delta seem like the best choices to me. I wouldn't mind paying a little more to a company that doesn't mind answering a few questions or is based in the us.

My mesa card sends analog signals so I like the idea of getting analog compatible drives. I know that step/dir and ethercat are possibilities, but I don't know any reasons why I shouldn't stick with analog.

 

We have no idea of your definition of “small”.
We cannot provide any advice without knowing your application and load requirements.

 

Numbers or nothing.

Have empathy for us that are reading your post, place yourself outside of your own mind.

 

We have no idea of your definition of “small”.
We cannot provide any advice without knowing your application and load requirements.

I think OP is only trying to advertise for oyosteppers by placing a link.
Even otherwise it sounds like he does not need help

 

For many years I used the PC based Galil controllers for CNC and motion control, the Galil outputs ±10. analogue.
I then used very simple transconductance motor drives by AMC etc (other makes avail). Both DC and BLDC motors.
The motor encoders went back to the Galil motion controller, or other position controller.

 

I think OP is only trying to advertise for oyosteppers by placing a link.
Even otherwise it sounds like he does not need help

It does seem like "A" is correct. Although very often there are posts where it looks to me that the TS has already decided what the solution is and is now asking us to discover how to make it work.
We are told about a few suppliers, but we do not have even a hint as to what the servo-package is required to do, ro what speed and torque it must deliver. THOSE parameters rather much define a motor's capabilities. Then there needs to be a drive for that motor getting a command signal in some format to make the motor provide some sort of motion, with some form of feedback, at an unknown response rate with unspecified accuracy and resolution.
The really bad news is that my mind reading capabilities are very poor, although my imagination can be rather creative. But my servo package may not be at all what the TS wants.

AND an "Electrical Engineer" should be able to tell us at least the known requirements of the proposed servo system.

 

Wherdoes it mention "Electrical Engineer"?
The OP does mention :
"My mesa card sends analog signals so I like the idea of getting analog compatible drives. I know that step/dir and ethercat are possibilities, but I don't know any reasons why I shouldn't stick with analog.".
I used this method for many years with great success.

 

That is stated in the "information" part of the TS profile. Some are students, some are "makers" some are managers.
explanation than others. About 3 clicks is all it takes. As one, "Y" states, "Know what the person you are addressing understands".
Not everybody has the same background. Beginners do not generally have many long years of experience as a resource.

 

Hi,
Please refrain from discussing the TS's registered Profile information.

If you have a query use the Report option.

Moderation.

 

On most applications where I use a servo motor the search starts with a set of specifications, usually torque and speed. They define the motor. Then come voltage and current.. That adds to the definition of the motor.
After that comes a description of the driver and the feedback type.

 

I found it cheaper and more flexible, not to be locked in with one particular system manuf, Yaskawa etc, but use individual manuf of devices which you can build a complete system from.

 

I found it cheaper and more flexible, not to be locked in with one particular system manuf, Yaskawa etc, but use individual manuf of devices which you can build a complete system from.

Certainly Max is right about that. BUT selecting pieces that will work well together demands a lot more insight, knowledge, and often more understanding of the specifications of the several different portions of the system. So it is not a trivial effort by any stretch, it would demand an actual engineering evaluation. OR, having done it quite a bit previously.

 

Certainly knowledge of closed loop systems is required, regardless of which wroute is followed.
I used the PC based cards from Galil for many years with great success, it would no more costly, (probabaly cheaper) than Yaskawa etc. and MUCH more flexible.

e.g. One such Galil item.:

The DMC-18x6 motion controller is part of the family, Galil's highest performance PCI bus motion controller. It belongs to Galil's latest generation motion controller family: the DMC-40x0 Series, which accepts encoder inputs up to 22 MHz, provides servo update rates as high as 32 kHz, and processes commands as fast as 40 microseconds-10 times the speed of prior generation controllers.

"The DMC-18x6 is a full-featured, PCI motion controller card. The DMC-18x6 is available in one through eight-axis formats, and each axis is user-configurable for stepper or servo motor operation. With a powerful RISC processor, the DMC-18x6 controllers provide such advanced features as PID compensation with velocity and acceleration feedforward, program memory with multitasking for simultaneously running eight applications programs, optically isolated digital I/O, and uncomitted analog inputs. Modes of motion include point-to-point positioning, position tracking, jogging, linear and circular interpolation, contouring, electronic gearing and ecam."

BTW, support is excellent.