Electric servo drives receive commands (optional: control commands) from a process control system, a PLC or from a position controller (optional: motion controller). They execute them and report on this process, its completion and any malfunctions. Should the load of the machine change, electric servo drives can regulate the power autonomously and absorb the change.
Modern servo drives support various fieldbus systems, including Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT®, PROFINET, Modbus as well as CANopen and DeviceNet®. Older servo drives usually still have a serial interface.
At Festo you will find electric servo drives as servo drive controllers or stepper motor controllers.