Servo or stepper motor

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

Hi,

I am currently looking to build a 2-axis robotic arm (pan/tilt) and am unsure whether to use stepper motors or servo motors. Whilst I won’t require much torque, the motors will have to be quite strong (able to deal with large jolts). They also need to be somewhat waterproof (not completely submersible but able to cope with water being splashed on them). They will be run off a 12volt car battery and controlled by a joystick. I am quite new to the robotic scene but would really appreciate some help.

Cheers

2

Since it’s only two axis, it’s really more of a pan/tilt. All of the pan/tilt units we carry are RC servo-based. Stepper motors do not have the advantage of absolute positioning when booted.
Durability (“jolts”) will depend largely on the force of impact. Very few actuators are water resistant or water proof.
Can you tell us more about the application, the load to support and the “jolts”?