With industial servo amplifiers (to drive motrors) you tend to get a specification such as 6 amps continuous, 18 amps absolute peak for 2 seconds, 10 amps for 10 seconds etc. and generally get some sort of graph showing current again how long it it will deliver it for. However it is all very complicated, for example if you've just used 18 amps for 2 seconds, how long before you can do it again?
If after the first 18 amps for 2 seconds it goes back to zero then you might be able to repeat it after 4 seconds (i.e. the average over 6 seconds is the continuous rating of 6 amps).
If after the 18 amps for 2 seconds it drops back to 5 amps then you might have to wait 26 seconds before you could do it again.
It all comes down to "Duty Cycle", but it's all very complicated. With servo drives you tend to work out what you think it needs, add a bit for luck, and see how it goes. This is why a lot of industial motors and drives are over specified - i.e. it's cheaper to over spec it than to underspec it and have to replace it.