Direct Drive Motors

How does a Direct Drive Motor work?

Direct drive motors are either linear or rotary motors and are an integral part of the mechanical assembly. The motors essentially eliminate the need for mechanical transmission elements such as couplings, gearboxes or belt and pulley systems.

Direct drive motors operate like most brushless DC motors. Magnets are attached to the rotor of the motor and windings are arranged on the stator, with the windings producing electro-magnetic fields as they are energised, which either attract or repel the rotor's magnets. A controlled motion is produced when the commutation of power is switched to the windings.

Advantages of Direct Drive Motors

There are many advantages to using a direct drive motor within your mechanical assembly:

• Little to no maintenance required
• Compact sizes 
• Highly reliable 
• Clean mechanical assembly
• Improved accuracy
• Low cooling requirements 
• Lower noise production – ideal for noise-sensitive applications
• Higher throughput
• Allows for more compact systems to be designed
• Less moving parts – increases MTBF
   

Types of Direct Drive Motors

There are two main types of direct drive motors; direct drive rotary motors and direct drive linear motors. Direct drive rotary motors generally are the most frequently used.

Direct Drive Rotary Motors

Direct drive rotary motors work by magnets that are attached to the rotor of a motor and windings arranged on the motor’s stator, which is the stationary part of a rotary system. As the windings are energised, electromagnetic fields are produced which attract and repel the magnets within the rotor.

Direct drive rotary motors available from Heason Technology include:

• Kollmorgen Cartridge DDR Servo Motor
• Kollmorgen KBM™ Series Frameless Motor
• Kollmorgen RBE(H) Series Brushless Motor

Direct Drive Linear Motors

A direct drive linear motor is essentially a rotary motor that is laid out flat, directly mounted on to the driven load. Magnets are energised in a linear sequence to attract and repel fixed magnets, enabling the payload to move along the track.

Direct drive linear motors available from Heason Technology include:

• Kollmorgen ICH Ironcore Linear Motors
• Kollmorgen IL Series Ironless Linear Motors
   

Direct Drive Motor Applications

Here are two examples of direct drive motor applications designed and manufactured by Heason Technology:

Direct Drive High Torque Shutter Actuator    

Linear Actuator Stage 

If you’d like any more information on Direct Drive Motors, please give us a call us on +44 (0) 1403 792 300 or email us at sales@heason.com to speak with one of our specialist engineering team about your requirements.