Surgery is not the place for things to go wrong. It is an area where extreme accuracy is essential; this applies to the motors operating in the room as well. Groschopp worked with a manufacturer of automated operating room tables to create a dual shaft solution to move two hinged arms simultaneously. By using one motor with two output shafts, Groschopp was able to create a more accurate and much cheaper solution than running one motor for each arm and using a control to connect them.
Another concern for the medical industry is quiet motor operation. Groschopp solved this issue by using a planetary reducer—which is already quieter than other gearbox options—and further modified it to minimize the noise. This application needed the motor to be compact and have a high torque output, capable of driving a load up to 500 lbs. It also needed to operate using a 24V power supply with a current limit of 20A. Groschopp customized one of their PMDC motors to achieve this level of performance.
Challenges
- Drive two arms of a table in sync with each other
- High torque for intermittent loads up to 500 lbs
- Extremely quiet operation
- 20A current supply limitation
Solution
- Custom PMDC motor with dual output shaft to drive two planetary reducers simultaneously
- Modifications to speed reducers to minimize noise
- Motor modifications for higher torque and a power supply limit at 20A