Robot Actuator

The popularity of collaborative robots (cobots) has led to a wide variety of humanoid style robots being used in various home and industrial settings. The robot axes require actuators that are compact, power-dense, quiet and operate smoothly with low vibration. Most cobots include 4–6 axes of motion: base, knee, arm, shoulder, wrist and end-effector.

A Chinese manufacturer of humanoid and industrial robots approached Portescap to provide motors for the arm and knee joints of several robot designs. Portescap collaborated with the customer to improve performance and increase cost efficiency. To meet the critical requirements of power density and low noise, the Athlonix™ 24DCT brush DC motor and MR2 Encoder were selected for the actuators. Neodymium magnets provided the necessary power density and increased the available torque by 20% over the competitor motor. Constant spring force carbon brushes reduced noise levels and increased motor life. Portescap tapped into its global supply chain to source the best components to meet the customer’s cost targets.

MR2 Encoder

Download a PDF of this article