In the 1960s, Yaskawa developed a succession of innovative DC servo motors, and in 1983, AC servo motor was launched, creating a new wave in the motor industry. And now, nearly 30 years later, almost 100% of factory automation (FA) uses AC servo motor.While a general motor is designed to work by continuously rotating the load, a servo motor is designed not only to rotate the load but also to respond accurately and quickly to the target.

Debut of AC servo drive

  • 1960

　Minertia motor

In the 1960s, Yaskawa developed a succession of innovative DC servo motors, and in 1983, AC servo motor was launched, creating a new wave in the motor industry. And now, nearly 30 years later, almost 100% of factory automation (FA) uses AC servo motor.

While a general motor is designed to work by continuously rotating the load, a servo motor is designed not only to rotate the load but also to respond accurately and quickly to the target.

Minertia motor
  • 1970

Thanks to advances in electronics technology since the 1970s, DC servo motors reached their peak in the 1980s. Nevertheless, DC servo motors have always been plagued by problems such as periodic replacement of brushes and dust generation due to wear. In the first half of the 1980s, the AC servo motor without brushes appeared, but its current control was analog and the CPU used an 8-bit microcomputer, so it did not match the control performance of a DC servo motor.

  • 1980

In the late 1980s, all-digital AC servo motor was commercialized. In the 1990s, the use of ASICs, 16- bit microcomputers, and the use of serial communications to increase the speed of detector position data dramatically improved control performance. In parallel with these improvements in amplifier and control performance, the use of powerful neodymium, iron, and boron magnets for the permanent magnets of the motor has resulted in dramatic miniaturization and responsiveness.

  • 1990
  • 2000

In the 1990’s and 2000’s, the semiconductor and liquid crystal industries became active, and a large amount of AC servo motor was mounted on these manufacturing equipment. In 2017, global production of servo motors by Japanese companies increased to approximately 7.9 million units according to a survey by Fuji Keizai. 10 years ago, in 2007, only about 2.34 million servo motors were produced in Japan. In addition, the need for cleaner and more accurate servo motors has increased and new types of motors such as linear motors and direct drive motors were developed.