MOTORS, DRIVES & CONTROLS
capability. For an e-mobility partner, the system was used to design and implement several mid-drive e-bike solutions that provided double the peak power output when compared to legacy motors, without increasing motor mass or volume. New autonomous vehicle technologies have also highlighted the platform, which has been shown to increase propulsion motor efficiency by 15%. Within a broad range of applicability, a motor designed and developed with PrintStator will almost always be lighter, smaller and more efficient in an application than an off-the- shelf motor.
HIGH EFFICIENCY MOTORS FOR THE HVACR SECTOR Te heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVACR) industry is one of the largest consumers of electricity in the world, accounting for 10% of the total US electricity consumption alone. Purpose-built motors offering system level efficiency improvements could have a significant impact on the industries carbon footprint. Using PrintStator, custom PCB stator motors have been shown to improve HVACR solutions across a number of key metrics including energy efficiency, size, weight, and noise. Te platform uses optimisation algorithms to enable stator designs with superior efficiencies and less raw material. Te motors designed with the platform are ultra-thin, have efficiency levels in the low- to mid-90s and are up to 70% lighter than comparable machines.
ECM’s PCB Stator technology creates a new axial-flux, permanent-magnet electric motor
Further, the platform’s optimisation of magnet, steel and copper mass offers up to 80% reduction in raw material. For the HVACR industry, ECM has prototyped high-performance motors including a 750W motor with 90% efficiency, a 2.2KW with 93% efficiency and a 4.5kW with 94% efficiency. To measure the feasibility of PCB stator technology for maritime HVACR, ECM was commissioned to replace a 2.2kW air handler motor on MARAD’s USTS Kennedy with a 2.2kW PCB stator motor. Te first iteration reduced motor weight by 66%, from 45kg to 15kg, and increased motor efficiency to 91.6%. In a second retrofit the existing air handler belt drive system was replaced with a direct PCB stator drive system to further boost system efficiency to 93%. In comparison to the legacy 2.2kw induction motor with 5kg of copper windings, ECM’s motor only used 600g of copper, an 88% reduction.
ROBOTICS APPLICATIONS Robotics is one of the fastest growing industries in 2021 and the demand for increased production and lower costs is accelerating the transition to automation. Mckinsey and Company predicts that 88% of businesses plan on using robotics to automate processes in the near future. PCB motors can integrate seamlessly into a range of these robotic and actuator applications to provide compact,
efficient, torque-dense solutions with minimal axial length and weight. Unlike many conventional electric machines, ECM motors do not have any cogging torque. Since PCB stators have no iron, there are no preferred rotor positions, enabling a superior quality of motion. ECM has designed PCB stator motors for gimbal and other precision motion applications offering exceptional pointing accuracy, a 24-bit encoder offers 16,777,216 discrete positions. Te lack of cogging also reduces vibration and audible noise. In certain noise critical applications, a reduction of 20-30dB have been reported. Recently, ECM partnered with Cone
Drive, a subsidiary of Timken, to integrate its harmonic drive into the PCB stator actuators. Te form factor flexibility of PrintStator allows ECM to design PCB stators as thin annular rings, enabling the compact integration with a variety of torque multipliers, including Cone Drive’s harmonic drive, resulting in high torque density. Te hollow shaft actuator was significantly more efficient, two thirds of the weight and half the axial length of competing integrations, increasing max load by up to 76%. In a second actuator, with the harmonic drive nested in front of the motor rather than in the motor cavity, the motor offered a 66% reduction in weight and 48.25Nm/kg of torque. Custom PCB stator motors, designed with ECM’s software can offer remarkable system level improvements across a wide range of industries, including HVACR, robotics, unmanned vehicles, precision motion control, e-mobility, haptic systems, physical therapy and medical devices.
PCB stator designs offer benefits to many different end-use applications
Ethan Frick is with ECM PCB Stator Technologies.
www.pcbstator.com
www.engineerlive.com 45
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