Servo motor repair and rebuild · Wisconsin
Servo motor repair and rebuild in Wisconsin
Overload, overcurrent and encoder alarms traced to the real cause. We repair drives and cables on the machine and rebuild servo motors with new bearings, seals and encoders when they’re worn out.
What we fix
- Overload and overcurrent alarms
- Encoder and feedback errors
- Motors with coolant inside
- Noisy or hot servo motors
- Servo motor rebuilds
Techs from the Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay regions.
Quick answerLocalSpindle of Wisconsin troubleshoots servo systems on site and repairs or rebuilds servo motors. We trace overload, overcurrent and encoder alarms to the motor, cable, drive or mechanics, fix what can be fixed on the machine, and rebuild servo motors with new bearings, seals and encoders when they’re worn or contaminated.
From our techs
One alarm, four possible causes
A servo alarm points at an axis, not at a part. The cause can be the motor, the cable, the drive or the mechanics the motor is pushing. We separate them with measurements: insulation resistance on the motor and cable, current and load during a move, encoder signals on a scope, and a feel of the axis by hand with the motor uncoupled.
That order matters. Coolant wicking down a cable into a connector is one of the most common servo problems we see, and it costs a cable and a cleaning, not a motor and a drive.
When a servo motor needs a rebuild
Bearings wear out, seals harden and let coolant in, and encoders get contaminated or fail. A motor with good windings and a worn bearing is a strong rebuild candidate. We rebuild servo motors with new bearings and seals, clean or replace the encoder, test the windings, and align the encoder so the motor goes back on the machine ready to run.
If the windings are shorted or the shaft is damaged, a rebuild may not make sense. You’ll get the rebuild price next to a new or exchange motor so you can pick.
Drives and power
Drives fail from heat, from incoming power problems and from motors that short. When a drive fails, we check the motor and cable before a new drive goes in, so the replacement doesn’t fail the same way. We also look at cabinet cooling, because a drive that runs hot every summer will keep failing every summer.
Symptoms
What you're seeing, and what it usually means
The alarm names the axis or the unit. These are the causes we find behind it most often.
| What you’re seeing | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| Overload alarm on one axis | Mechanical bind, a dry way, a worn bearing in the motor, or a motor that’s losing torque. |
| Overcurrent or short alarm | Shorted motor windings, a damaged cable, coolant in a connector, or a failed drive. |
| Encoder or pulse coder alarm | Encoder failure, contamination, a broken feedback cable or a dead battery on absolute encoders. |
| Axis hums, vibrates or hunts | Tuning, a loose coupling, a worn ballscrew, or encoder noise. |
| Motor runs hot or noisy | Worn bearings, overload from mechanics, or failing windings. |
| Drive won’t power up | Incoming power, a blown fuse, a failed power section, or a fault elsewhere in the drive chain. |
How we work it
Servo motor repair and rebuild: our approach
Isolate
Motor, cable, drive or mechanics, measured one at a time.
Fix on the machine
Cables, connectors, settings and mechanics.
Rebuild
Bearings, seals and encoder work on worn motors.
Reinstall
Encoder aligned, axis tested under load.
A full visit
What a visit can cover
- Motor insulation and winding tests
- Power and feedback cables and connectors
- Encoder signals and absolute position backup
- Drive status, history and power section
- Axis mechanics with the motor uncoupled
- Couplings and brake operation
- Cabinet cooling and drive temperature
- Rebuild: bearings, seals, encoder, testing and alignment
On the van
- Megohmmeter and meters
- Scope for encoder signals
- Connector and cable repair parts
- Encoder batteries
- Common fuses and cooling fans
Example service call
Z-axis overcurrent alarm on a horizontal machining center
The call
A plant in Fond du Lac County had a horizontal that threw a Z-axis overcurrent alarm a few times a shift, always while running coolant.
What we did
- Phone. The coolant detail pointed at a cable or connector. We brought cable repair parts and a megohmmeter.
- On site. The motor’s power connector was full of coolant that had wicked down the cable from a split jacket.
- Fix. Replaced the damaged cable section and connector, cleaned and dried the motor connection, and tested motor insulation, which was still good.
- Check. Ran production with coolant for two hours without an alarm.
The result. No motor or drive needed. We rerouted the cable away from the coolant spray.
A typical call, written to show how we work. It isn’t a specific customer.
Talk to a Wisconsin tech
Same problem on your floor?
Call and a tech will tell you what we’d check first, then the closest team heads your way.
- You talk to a tech, not a call center
- The closest Wisconsin team takes the job
- Straight answer on repair, rebuild or replace
Brands
Servo motors, drives and spindles we work on
Linked brands have their own page. See every brand we service.
- Fanuc
- Siemens
- Allen-Bradley Kinetix
- Yaskawa
- Mitsubishi
- Bosch Rexroth (Indramat)
- Kollmorgen
- Glentek
- Baldor
- Parker
- Setco
- Franz Kessler
- IBAG
- GMN
- Fischer
- Step-Tec
From the field
Servo motor repair and rebuild: tips from our techs
Keep coolant off the cables
Split cable jackets and loose connector boots let coolant wick right into the motor.
Don't reset the same alarm all day
Each overcurrent trip stresses the drive. A repeating alarm is a call, not a reset.
Watch summer temperatures
Drives that fail in July usually have a cooling problem behind them.
Yes, with new bearings and seals, encoder service or replacement, winding tests and encoder alignment.
Fanuc, Siemens, Yaskawa, Mitsubishi, Allen-Bradley Kinetix, Bosch Rexroth (Indramat), Kollmorgen, Baldor and others.
Yes. That’s the first thing we measure, so you don’t pay for parts you didn’t need.
We handle encoder batteries and reference setting so the machine keeps its positions.
We diagnose it on the machine and arrange repair, exchange or replacement with prices.
It depends on the motor and parts. You get the turnaround time with the quote, before anything comes apart.
Who comes out
Wisconsin teams for servo motor repair and rebuild
The founding team closest to your shop takes the call. Central and western Wisconsin calls go to whichever team is nearest.
Milwaukee
Southeast Wisconsin. Servo motor repair and rebuild calls in Milwaukee, Waukesha, New Berlin, Menomonee Falls, Germantown, West Allis and nearby towns.
Madison
South central Wisconsin. Servo motor repair and rebuild calls in Madison, Sun Prairie, Middleton, Janesville, Beloit, Watertown and nearby towns.
Green Bay
Northeast Wisconsin and the Fox Valley. Servo motor repair and rebuild calls in Green Bay, De Pere, Appleton, Neenah and Menasha, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac and nearby towns.
Keep reading
Related repair
Machine down?
Get your servo motor repair and rebuild sorted
Call and talk to a tech about the machine, the control and the symptom. The Wisconsin team closest to you takes it from there.
