The basic components of a servo system include motors, encoders, drivers, and controllers. Among these, the servo motor, often referred to as the "heart of an industrial robot," accounts for approximately 35% of the cost and is typically installed at the robot's joints, providing precise control. Servo motors are widely used in advanced manufacturing, with both replacement and new demand driving steady growth in the servo market. The application of servo motors in emerging industries is also continuously expanding. According to data from Industrial Control Network, the Chinese servo motor market reached 18.1 billion yuan in 2022 and is projected to grow to 19.5 billion yuan in 2023.
Servo Motor Industry Overview
"Servo" means that the motor operates in a closed-loop control system. This system uses feedback from an encoder or resolver (usually integrated into or mounted on the motor) to compare the difference between the motor's actual position, speed, or torque and the command, thereby achieving precise movement. It is one of the core technologies of robotics.
The servo system sends signals from the servo driver to the servo motor to drive its rotation. At the same time, the encoder in the servo motor feeds back the motion parameters of the servo motor to the servo driver, which then summarizes, analyzes and corrects the signals.
A servo motor is an actuator, and an encoder is usually embedded in the servo motor to measure motion parameters and achieve closed-loop control.
Servo motors are generally classified into DC and AC servo motors.
DC servo motors are divided into brushed DC servo motors and brushless DC servo motors.
AC servo motors, including synchronous AC servo motors and asynchronous AC servo motors.
DC brushless motors and AC servo systems are also important development directions for motor control.
With the emergence of fully digital AC servo systems, AC servo motors are increasingly being used in digital control systems.
High-performance servo systems mostly use permanent magnet synchronous AC servo motors, and the control drivers mostly use fast and accurate positioning all-digital position servo systems, such as Siemens, Kollmorgen, Panasonic, Yaskawa, etc.
Servo motor industry chain and market structure
The servo motor industry chain involves rare earth magnetic materials, electronic components, servo system manufacturing, and robotics. The upstream mainly consists of rare earth magnetic materials and other materials such as electronic components; rare earth magnetic materials are essential raw materials in the servo motor manufacturing process. The midstream, in addition to servo motor manufacturing, also includes servo driver manufacturing and CNC system R&D. my country's servo system market is mainly divided into three camps: Japanese and Korean brands, European and American brands, and domestic brands. Due to the high level of technology required, the servo system market has long been dominated by foreign brands.
In recent years, the pace of import substitution for domestically produced servo systems has accelerated, and the rise of domestic brands in the servo system market has become increasingly evident. Domestically produced servo motors have reached a level comparable to those of mainstream foreign manufacturers in terms of rated torque, load characteristics, and encoder resolution, achieving internationally advanced technology. With domestic industrial upgrading, Chinese mainland companies, represented by Inovance Technology, are increasingly approaching the technological level of leading overseas companies. Inovance's independently developed encoders have reached international standards, and other Chinese mainland brands are gradually catching up, accelerating domestic substitution. In terms of market share, besides Inovance Technology, Japanese brands Yaskawa, Panasonic, and Mitsubishi, and Taiwanese brand Delta hold significant shares. Major domestic companies with a presence in the industry chain include Jiangte Motor, Jiangsu Leili, Leisai Intelligent, and Haozhi Electromechanical.
Source: Xingxingcha. With the rise of domestic robot manufacturers, the market share of domestic companies in the control motor industry has been increasing year by year. Domestic manufacturers have continuously strengthened their R&D and production capabilities related to servo systems through measures such as introducing, digesting, and absorbing advanced international technologies, gradually breaking the foreign monopoly on the servo market. Domestic substitution is accelerating further, and the industry has broad prospects.
