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Servo Durability #900-00005 — Parallax Forums

Servo Durability #900-00005

Greetings,

On a recent project, I went through quite a few of the very low cost ($3.95) servo's while building it, as was expected.

Now that all the testing is finished, I would like to settle into the project using a more durable 180 degree servo,
but am ignorant as to what the expected longevity of a servo such as the Parallax Standard Servo (#900-00005) 'should' be if it is utilized at it's maximum 'pull' spec several times per minute, which if I understand the spec correctly, is 38 oz-in torque at 6 VDC (but can't seem to locate the expected current that will be needed when it's performing a 38 oz torque pull).

The low cost servo's would work as desired, but without noticeable cause, would just stop and have to be replaced.
I simply wouldn't be able to afford 10x the cost of swapping out multiple higher cost servo's, so am investigating their reliability.

Thanks so much!


Comments

  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2020-01-27 21:21
    Based on my experience with servo and other motors I would suggest looking at servos with at least twice the required torque. If your current servos are rated at 38 0z-in that would be at least 76 oz-in of torque or more. Even then, an industrial servo will be more durable than a hobby servo.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    I wish I could tell you. It is not clear if you intend to use these servos continuously for hours on end or not.

    Under normal use, such as in hobby robots, they should last years. But if it is something that is used every day, for long periods at full power I would expect its life to be significantly shortened. It would not be the right choice IMO.

    You are correct about the lack of data for the current draw, I would estimate up to one Amp at max torque. That is based upon similar servos which do publish that data (HiTECH)
  • bjh,

    What are you trying to do with servos?

    I wonder if Erco, who is the king of ebay deals, ever found a replacement for his beloved discontinued Hobby King servo.
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