Developing Product: Hollow Shaft Stepper Motor Simplifies Design
A new 66-mm-diameter stepper motor from PRECIstep features a 41-mm-wide clear aperture running through its shaft, coupled with substantial torque and speed that provide design engineers new ways to easily realize compact, high-performance products. Competing devices leverage conventional technology to clabber together hollow-shaft motors at the expense of reduced speed, additional complexity, or severely limited aperture size. In contrast, PRECIstep designed its motor from the ground up to produce high performance in a hollow form factor. Samples are available now, and the MICROMO team (in partnership with the PRECIstep team) will discuss needs regarding sample testing and any product questions at this time. Official product launch is targeted soon.
At the heart of the unit lies an innovative annular neodymium magnet that allows the coils to be configured in a large ring, leaving the wide through aperture. The motor sports eight coils that are linked to allow it to operate like any two phase-stepper motor, while supplying holding torques of 250 mNm and dynamic torques as high as 220 mNm. Custom options include a choice of three different types of coils: low-temperature, high temperature, and vacuum compatible. Featuring 200 steps per revolution, the design balances harmonics which makes it ideal for micro-stepping applications, and those requiring high angular precision. Three windings are available for the motor: 2.2, 3.4 and 5.3A.
The wide through-aperture allows designers to take different approaches to problem solving that can simplify their system architectures and speed time-to-market. When the motor is used in robotic arms, for example, the clear aperture can act as a cable raceway, reducing both cost and space demands while eliminating wind up that can limit motion and trigger early failure.
Even better, the hollow allows designers to integrate additional components like gearheads directly into the center of the shaft. Have an instrument like a scanning fluorescence microscope that needs a focused beam? Install a lens inside the motor and route your laser beam right through it. The motors can also be used with security cameras and in other defense applications.
PRECIstep also supplies a range of smaller-scale hollow-shaft stepper motors, like a 6-mm-diameter unit that features a 0.4-mm clear aperture running through its 1-mm shaft. Users can run an optical fiber through the hollow or apply a vacuum to convert the stepper to a pick-and-place actuator.
For further information, contact MICROMO, the North-American value-added reseller for the Faulhaber Group, which includes PRECIstep.
(click to enlarge)