sed:
Not to worry. The whole point of this forum is for everyone to learn (except me, of course...)
Let me say at the outset that I consider a flux-vector controlled AC induction motor using a shaft position sensor to be a real positioning servo drive. I know lots of people who use them as such. The only thing they really give up to what most people consider to be servo drive/motor systems is that they have substantially lower torque-to-inertia ratio, because the rotor moment of inertia is typically 4 to 5 times higher than for a permanent-magnet brushless servo motor of the same power rating.
In our own positioning controllers, only two setup variables need to be set differently for controlling induction motors as opposed to permanent-magnet brushless servo motors. First, induction motors require a non-zero "slip gain" (slip-to-torque ratio), whereas for PM servo motors, this parameter must be zero. Second, induction motors require a non-zero "magnetization current" command (direct current) in order to induce current, and hence, a magnetic field in the rotor. This is not required when the rotor has permanent magnets creating its field.
Now, a positioning servo drive, with either a PM or an AC induction motor, can sit all day at zero position error, whether or not there is an external load. It does not need to hunt. The key is integral gain in the position loop. The integrator can "charge up" so that a torque command is output even in the absence of an error at the moment.
It is a common misconception that servo drives need to "hunt" dynamically to hold position. A good servo system can sit fat, dumb, and happy all day long at zero error if there is a constant load (zero or non-zero). Hunting is usually a sign either of response to changing disturbances or bad setup.
Curt Wilson
Delta Tau Data Systems