MOTORS, DRIVES & CONTROLS
ECM actuator and its PCB stator
Ethan Frick details how software-based PCB stator motors offer custom, high-performance solutions
MODERNISED MOTORS
H
istorically, designing custom-built electric motors has been a long and labour-intensive process, and the transition from prototyping to
full-scale production has further limited the viability of these custom machines. Tus, many engineers are pressured into selecting a “best-fit” motor from a catalogue of existing solutions rather than investing in a “perfect-fit”. Unfortunately, these best-fit, off-the-shelf motors are commonly over-sized, inefficient and ignore many application specifics such as thermal conditions. As the world becomes more electrified and the incentive to decrease carbon footprint grows, it is clear that this best fit model is no longer acceptable.
ECM PCB Stator Technology is a Boston, USA-based start-up aiming to change the relationship between engineers and motor design with its novel design-to- manufacture software platform. With PrintStator, purpose-built electric motor designs, ready for manufacture, are automatically generated from any set of motor
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specifications, eliminating human error and enabling a new degree of design flexibility. With ECM’s platform, a nearly infinite number of motor designs is possible. Whether improving an existing system or creating a new technology, motors designed with this new solution have been proven to provide remarkable system level efficiency improvements in a considerably smaller footprint.
MOTOR AS SOFTWARE Using a proprietary PCB stator axial flux motor design, which replaces the copper windings used in conventional motors with
Conventional BLDC on left and ECM PCB stator on right
a PCB that works in conjunction with permanent magnets, ECM’s software platform fundamentally changes the way motors are designed and manufactured. A cloud-based CAD/CAM SaaS platform, PrintStator creates custom PCB stator- based motors for distinct requirements. Any set of motor specifications can be fed into the software, which will then use given optimisation parameters such as “maximum efficiency” or “minimum radius”, to produce unique, application- specific solutions. Leveraging the existing PCB manufacturing industry, the platform also enables rapid prototyping and full-scale production. Along with each custom design, the software provides design files that can be used to immediately print the stator at any PCB house, globally. Tis system is already being used to prototype and design ECM machines by key players in a wide range of industries. In the medical industry, a 40W PCB stator motor designed to actuate the elbow joint of an adult orthosis, resulted in a greatly reduced system size and increased patient
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