Stepper Motor

 

Fri, 10/24/2014 - 11:39am

 

Trinamic Motion Control has unveiled its latest patent-pending technology for stepper motors. Dubbed stealthChop, the new technology significantly reduces the noise of conventional stepper motor operation.

Motors operating at low speed exhibit a phenomenon known as magnetostriction, which causes an audible low frequency “hum”. This low-frequency noise is well known as the 60Hz hum that emanates from transmission lines and transformers. Trinamic’s stealthChop minimizes magnetostriction by implementing a PWM algorithm that relies predominantly on voltage modulation for motor control at lower speeds. This technology minimizes PWM current fluctuation, which is the primary cause of low-speed hum.

Noise limitations are especially desirable in applications that normally occur in close proximity to human operators, in applications where multiple stepper motors are in use, in video surveillance applications where installations near walls and ceilings amplify noise, and in consumer applications, like home automation and air conditioning, where users expect minimal noise.

Trinamic devices that implement this new stealthChop technology have achieved measured noise levels 10 dB below traditional stepper motor drive ICs.

Trinamic Motion Control