The motor arrived from Switzerland by courier, as the customer did not want to take any risks with standard shipping. His situation was critical: an urgent order was pending, and the machine had to be back in production quickly.

As is often the case in such emergencies, he turned to an alternative spare parts supplier who promised fast delivery. At a high price, he received a motor that was supposedly brand new. Confident in the purchase, the customer immediately installed it in the machine. But instead of solving the problem, new error messages appeared. After several unsuccessful attempts and four lost production days, it became clear: the motor could not work in this condition.

The issue was eventually traced back to the encoder. The encoder type matched the model, but it was incorrectly programmed. The customer operates twelve machines of the same type, which allowed him to narrow down the fault step by step. After consulting the supplier, it turned out that their source in China had delivered the motor with a wrongly configured encoder.

Frustrated, the customer began searching for repair specialists. In his words, he quickly realized that while the internet is full of offers, few providers truly understand these motors. This is how he came across us. Our ability to demonstrate the repair and testing process via video and to offer a functioning test bench convinced him immediately.

When both motors arrived at our workshop, we inspected the so-called “new” motor first. At first glance, it looked like new. But inside, reality was different: heavy contamination, worn bearings, and an incorrectly installed encoder confirmed that the motor could never have worked properly. This is a practice we encounter increasingly often. Many Chinese sellers cosmetically refurbish devices, repaint housings, and replace type plates, but the functional integrity is ignored. European resellers without in-depth electronics knowledge then sell these units to industrial customers, hoping for the best. The result is wasted money and costly downtime.

In this particular case, the customer had already paid around €4000 for a motor that was essentially scrap. Whether he can reverse the deal remains uncertain.

We then focused on the repair. The defective encoder was replaced with a new, original Yaskawa UTSIH-B13DC-E encoder, which we programmed exactly 1:1 to match the original specification. In addition, we carried out a preventive overhaul:

• Replacement of all ball bearings
• Renewal of seals
• Complete cleaning and emulsion removal
• Oven drying to eliminate residual moisture
• Encoder installation with precise alignment
• Final testing at our dedicated Yaskawa test bench with SGDK-Servopack, including load and isolation tests

Thanks to our express service, the repair took less than 24 hours. The next day, the customer had a fully functional motor in his hands and was able to restart production immediately.

The outcome was clear: the repair was not only faster but also significantly cheaper than the “new purchase.” The motor looked like new and performed flawlessly after our intervention.

This story underlines an important lesson: relying on supposedly cheap replacement motors from questionable sources can be an expensive trap. Expert repair, backed by genuine parts, proper testing, and preventive measures, ensures long-term reliability and availability and ultimately saves money.

Information about the mentioned Servomotor and other components:

Yaskawa SGMPH-08AAA-SE81 AC Servo Motor

• Encoder Yaskawa UTSIH-B13DC-E
• Yaskawa Servopack SGDK-101010AEA-VY24

More information about our Yaskawa repairs can be found here.

📞 Feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding your Yaskawa drive

Technical Specifications

Operating Environment & Compatible Devices

• Typical machines: Machine tools, pick-and-place systems, packaging lines, robotics axes, production lines.
• Compatible drives: Yaskawa Servopack SGDK-101010AEA-VY24, other SGDK drives in 200V class.
• Compatible controllers: Siemens and Yaskawa CNC controllers with serial feedback interface.

Functional Description

The motor is designed for precise axis movements in CNC and production machines. With high dynamics, repeatability, and a compact design, it is ideal for applications requiring fast positioning cycles and exact motion. The UTSIH-B13DC-E encoder provides serial feedback, ensuring precise synchronization with the Servopack.

Alarm Messages & Troubleshooting

Components