I probably could go directly to EZ Robot with this question but I'm hoping someone here can answer this question simply and quickly.
I have an EZ Robot HD servo that will only rotate one way manually with the power off. With the power off I can easily and freely move it to the right. However it will not move back to the left. It's like there is a block in there. However, here's the weird part. If I power it up and command it to move through ARC it will center and move the full range of motion both ways just fine.
I think this started when the robot arm joint it's mounted in free spun with weight when handling it. The with the power off. Maybe the gears may have hit the end stop inside the servo?
I probably should replace the servo in the arm joint but I'm just curious why it wouldn't move in one direction by hand with power off but acts correctly and moves both ways when powered on. Any insight?
hi dave
i dont have spare parts . but the top housing is broken . i wil not use this one anymore . i send the video to ez robot asking for a warrenty .cause this was a new one . sofar no reactions , its winter and not many are present on ez robot . maybe i get a new one . for me its a learning proces . so contineus rotation have no pot ?
thanks for your responds
A continuous has no pot. You can modify a 180 servo into a continuous servo by removing the pot and cutting off the stop. There are a few ways to do this. Here's one way:
Hello @Nomad that hole in the servo is not normal, yeah it seems there is something wrong with that servo.
@Dave that does happen with a significant amount of servos, some do spin one way by hand but not the other direction. This is usually due to the way the gears mesh, the gears will turn freely as long as they don't bind internally.
Some servos will not bind in either direction when moved by hand, but some servos will bind in one direction or the other. This is likely because there is some play in the gears, the gears may twist slightly when you place some external twisting motion. Internally the gears mesh fine when the motor is driving them but when an external force is applied (which is not how they are designed) there is the possibility of binding.
I mean you could try and clean the gears as there could be a tiny bit of debris that's messing with the gear meshing, but I'm leaning toward this being an inherent outcome that happens.
You shouldn't need to replace this servo unless you require the ability to move it in both directions by hand.
*Edit I read Athena's response afterward, and I'm quite surprised that she (it) was on the right track.
@Jeremie, thanks for taking the time to explain this.
Just a reminder, the HD servos have been replaced by the HDD servos which are way better. You might want to consider upgrading to the most recent HDD servos. I have an adventure bot running off of two HD servos from 2014. I should upgrade it, but I have a Roli Chassis on the way. I also have a Six Hexapod running off of all HD servos. Again, I need to upgrade that soon. The good thing is that on the website there are options available for replacing all servos.