Stepper motors are among the most challenging motors available today, with their high precision stepping, high resolution and smooth motion, stepper motors generally require customization to achieve optimal performance in specific applications. Commonly customized design attributes are stator winding patterns, shaft configurations, custom housings and specialized bearings, which make stepper motors extremely challenging to design and manufacture. Motors can be designed to fit the application, rather than forcing the application to fit the motor, and flexible motor designs can take up minimal space. Micro stepper motors are difficult to design and manufacture and often cannot compete with larger motors. Micro stepper motors offer a unique design approach and with the advent of hybrid stepper motor technology, micro motors are beginning to be used in medical devices and laboratory automation, especially in applications requiring high precision such as micro pumps, fluid metering and control, pinch valves, and optical sensor control. Micro stepper motors can even be incorporated into electric hand tools, such as electronic pipettes, where hybrid stepper motors were previously impossible to integrate.
Miniaturization is an ongoing concern for many industries and has been one of the major trends in recent years. Used in production, testing or for everyday laboratory use, motion and positioning systems require smaller, more powerful motors. The motor industry has been designing and manufacturing small stepper motors for a long time, and small enough motors still don't exist for many applications. Where motors are small enough, they lack the specifications needed for the application, such as providing the high enough torque or speed needed to be competitive in the marketplace. The sad alternative is to use a large frame stepper motor and shrink all the other components around it, often by special brackets and mounting additional hardware. Motion control in this small area is extremely challenging, forcing engineers to compromise on the space architecture of the device.
Standard brushless DC motors are structurally and mechanically self-supporting, with the rotor suspended inside the stator by end caps at both ends, and any peripherals that need to be attached, usually bolted to the end caps, which easily account for up to 50% of the total motor length. Frameless motors reduce waste and redundancy by eliminating the need for additional mounting brackets, plates or brackets, and all structural and mechanical supports required for the design can be integrated directly into the motor interior. The benefit of this is that the stator and rotor can be seamlessly integrated into the system, reducing size without sacrificing performance.
The miniaturization of stepper motors is challenging and the performance of the motor is directly related to its size. As the frame size decreases, so does the space for rotor magnets and windings, which affects not only the maximum torque output available, but also the speed at which the motor can operate. Past attempts to build a NEMA6 size hybrid stepper motor have mostly failed, thus indicating that the NEMA6 frame size is too small to provide any useful performance. By applying its experience in custom design and expertise in several disciplines, the motor industry was able to successfully create a hybrid stepper motor technology that had failed in other areas. The NEMA 6 type stepper motor not only provides a large amount of usable dynamic torque at high speeds, but also provides a high level of accuracy.
With a typical permanent magnet motor with 20 steps per revolution, or 18 degrees of step angle, versus a 3.46 degree motor, it is able to provide 5.7 times the resolution, and this higher resolution translates directly into higher accuracy, providing a hybrid stepper motor. Coupled with this step angle variation and low inertia rotor design, the motor is capable of dynamic torque in excess of 28 g at speeds approaching 8,000 rpm, providing speed performance similar to that of a standard brushless DC motor. Increasing the step angle from a typical 1.8 degrees to 3.46 degrees allows them to obtain almost twice the holding torque of the closest competitive design, and at up to 56 g/in, the holding torque is almost four times that of a conventional PM stepper motor of the same size (up to 14 g/in).
Conclusion
Micro stepper motors can be used in a variety of industries that require compact construction while maintaining a high level of precision, especially in the medical industry where they are more cost effective from the emergency room to the patient's bedside to laboratory equipment. There is currently a lot of interest in handheld pipettes. Micro stepper motors provide the high resolution needed to dispense chemicals accurately, and these motors offer higher torque and higher quality than other comparable products on the market. For laboratories, micro stepper motors become the benchmark for quality. The compact size makes micro stepper motors the perfect solution, whether it is a robotic arm or a simple XYZ stage, stepper motors are easy to interface and can provide open or closed loop functionality.
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Changzhou Vic-tech Motor Technology Co., Ltd. is a professional research and production organization focusing on motor research and development, overall solutions for motor applications, and processing and production of motor products. Ltd. has been specialized in manufacturing micro motors and accessories since 2011. Our main products: miniature stepper motors, gear motors, geared motors, underwater thrusters and motor drivers and controllers.
Our team has over 20 years of experience in designing, developing and manufacturing micro-motors, and can develop products and assist design customers according to special needs! At present, we mainly sell to customers in hundreds of countries in Asia, North America and Europe, such as USA, UK, Korea, Germany, Canada, Spain, etc. Our "integrity and reliability, quality-oriented" business philosophy, "customer first" value norms advocate performance-oriented innovation, collaboration, efficient spirit of enterprise, to establish a "build and share "The ultimate goal is to create maximum value for our customers.
Post time: Mar-28-2023