What's the Difference Between Stepper and Servo Motors?

Sept. 6, 2024

Find out the difference between stepper motors and servo motors for your motion application.

What you’ll learn:

Stepper and servo motors have different attributes when considered for motion applications.
Torque curves play an important role in selecting the proper size and type of motor for an application.
Servo motors are inherently closed loop while stepper motors are primarily open loop, though the latter can be closed-loop controlled.
Which motor is better for load holding?
How to make a submersible glider out of a water bottle, syringe, an Arduino, and a stepper motor.

For electrical engineers and designers, there are times in system design where crossing over the line in the sand to select mechanical components is inevitable. Whether it's a 3D printer, CNC Machine, MRI Scanner, or a robot, picking the right kind of motor for the job can, at times, be a head-scratcher or a knowledge gap. Even if you find yourself a bunch of kids to build a submersible glider with...

To find out more about the difference between servo motors and stepper motors and which applications they're best suited, there's an excellent, easy-to-comprehend article over on Machine Design, Electronic Design's sister publication, entitled "Getting the Right Stepper or Servo Motor for Electric Actuators."

Building a Simple Underwater Glider Submersible

This underwater glider submersible is made from a water bottle, an Arduino, a servo motor, and a syringe.

About the Author

Andy Turudic | Technology Editor, Electronic Design

Andy Turudic is a Technology Editor for Electronic Design Magazine, primarily covering Analog and Mixed-Signal circuits and devices. He holds a Bachelor's in EE from the University of Windsor (Ontario Canada) and has been involved in electronics, semiconductors, and gearhead stuff, for a bit over a half century.

"AndyT" brings his multidisciplinary engineering experience from companies that include National Semiconductor (now Texas Instruments), Altera (Intel), Agere, Zarlink, TriQuint,(now Qorvo), SW Bell (managing a research team at Bellcore, Bell Labs and Rockwell Science Center), Bell-Northern Research, and Northern Telecom and brings publisher employment experience as a paperboy for The Oshawa Times.

After hours, when he's not working on the latest invention to add to his portfolio of 16 issued US patents, he's lending advice and experience to the electric vehicle conversion community from his mountain lair in the Pacific Northwet[sic].

AndyT's engineering blog, "Nonlinearities," publishes the 1st and 3rd monday of each month. Andy's OpEd may appear at other times, with fair warning given by the Vu meter pic.