Servo Motor (Full Metal Gear) MG995 TowerPro 180 Degree

MG995 is a servo motor that is popular for its performance and low price. The motor is used in many applications mainly robotics and drones.

MG995 Servo Motor Pinout Configuration

MG995 has three terminals as mentioned in the pin diagram and the function of each pin is given below.

MG995 Features and Electrical Characteristics

• Metal geared servo for more life
• Stable and shockproof double ball bearing design
• High-speed rotation for quick response
• Fast control response
• Constant torque throughout the servo travel range
• Excellent holding power
• Operating voltage range: 4.8 V to 7.2 V
• Stall torque: 9.4kg/cm (4.8v); 11kg/cm (6v)
• Operating speed: 0.2 s/60º (4.8 V), 0.16 s/60º (6 V)
• Rotational degree: 180º
• Dead band width: 5 μs
• Operating temperature range: 0ºC to +55ºC
• Current draw at idle: 10mA
• No load operating current draw: 170mA
• Current at maximum load: 1200mA

MG995 Servo Motor Overview

Since MG995 is a servo motor providing precise rotation over the 180º range its applications are many and a few are stated below

• The servo is suited for designing robotic arms in which the wear and tear of the motor is high. Being metal geared, the servo has a long life and can be installed on a system like a robotic arm where motor work is huge.
• The servo is also suited to be used in drones and toy planes. Having a satisfying torque which is enough to overcome air resistance and control the wings of the plane, the servo is preferred in toy planes and drones which need precision control no matter the condition.

How to use MG995 Servo Motor

First, let us consider the circuit connection of the servo as shown below. Here the Red wire is connected to +5V regulated power which can deliver current up to 1Amp, the Brown wire is grounded and the Orange wire is connected to the PWM (Pulse Width modulation) output of a microcontroller. In the circuit, if the microcontroller and servo have different power sources then the microcontroller ground needs to be connected to servo ground.

Now for controlling of servo, there are only two important things to remember:

• Frequency of PWM: MG995 takes in a PWM signal of frequency 50Hz and any higher and lower frequency PWM will lead to error. As shown in the figure every single cycle of PWM needs to be 20ms width for 50Hz frequency.
• The duty cycle of PWM: The duty cycle of PWM (or ratio of ON time to total cycle time) determines the position of the servo axis. If we provide a PWM signal of 0.5ms ON time over a 20mS complete cycle, the servo axis will move to 0º.

And if we provide a PWM signal of 1.5ms ON time over a 20mS complete cycle, the servo axis will move to 90º. At last, if we provide a PWM signal of 2.5ms ON time over a 20mS complete cycle, the servo axis will move to 180º.

Based on these standard values we can also calculate any other degree of rotation. After calculation, we just have to adjust the duty cycle of the PWM for the servo to read the signal and change to that stated position.

In this way, we can control the servo position using the PWM signal of any microcontroller or processor. In Arduino and other development boards, we will have libraries readily available to make it even easier to control the servo. If we use those libraries we can directly state the servo position instead of adjusting the PWM duty cycle every single time.

Applications

• Drones and RC planes
• Security camera
• Robotics
• Solar tracking and positioning
• Door locks and safe locks
• Hobby projects