Consumers’ desire for customized solutions is the driving force behind gear motor design and development. It typically involves largely a simplified integration of mechanical designs into the whole geared system. This particular trend prompts manufacturers of gear motors to provide customers with a simpler design. Plus the fact that suppliers are also giving the end-users more in-house engineering resources in the attempt to help the design phase. As a result, more customized solutions are being made.
Moreover, the rise of newer gear motor applications demand changes in the design of the device which is the case with new battery-operated designs. Some of the recent modifications made are windings optimization and more efficient motor operation at low voltages in outdoor systems. Apart from new winding configurations, other design improvements include new magnetic configurations that help maximize performance with lower voltages that are involved in battery-powered designs.
For instance, mobile machines and automatic guided vehicle (AGV) applications that are battery-powered are a perfect example of a gear motor design that should go as small but as efficient as possible. The engineers and designers of these small machines are aiming for the tiniest footprint possible by fusing the use of actuator mechanisms and sensors that maximize the use of space. This trend on a more customized gear motor design also affects other specifics of motor design, such as the case with mechanical features and electrical designs.
Some of the examples of usual customization of a gear motor, range from little details such as sensors, special castings, customized controllers, shafts, special holes in the housing, motor and control testing, custom magnetics, to name a few. Other customized solutions are those that involve additional custom castings to the overall assembly of a gear motor to allow the integration of drive wheel mechanisms, making the manufacturing and installation of the drive unit more compact and a lot easier.