Typical motors function copper wrapped round metal, however ETM’s metal stator is wrapped across the exterior of the low-resistance copper coil. | Supply: ETM
Electrical Torque Machines, or ETM, final week entered the robotics and superior actuator market with its transverse flux motor know-how. The corporate stated it’s providing its TFM know-how by means of a versatile partnership mannequin that enables OEMs to retain manufacturing management, defend margins, and speed up improvement timelines.
The robotics trade faces converging pressures: aggressive efficiency targets, thermal administration constraints, provide chain volatility, and the necessity for product differentiation, in accordance with ETM. It stated its TFM know-how addresses these challenges on the system stage, enabling producers to simplify mechanical designs, scale back prices, and obtain efficiency benchmarks beforehand requiring important tradeoffs.
“The period of sacrificing thermal efficiency for torque density is over,” acknowledged Chuck Ensign, ETM president. “ETM gives robotics corporations next-level actuation functionality whereas sustaining management of their product roadmap and manufacturing future.”
Based in 2007, ETM was acquired by Graco in 2020. The Flagstaff, Ariz.-based firm’s TFM know-how was initially utilized in high-volume, low-speed (HVLS) industrial followers. It now serves markets together with marine propulsion, materials dealing with, and pumps and sprayers, with new functions repeatedly beneath improvement and launch.
TFM guarantees to chop motor measurement and manufacturing value
Whereas high-ratio actuators maximize torque-to-weight ratios, their inherent inefficiency creates important thermal bottlenecks and reduces battery autonomy, asserted ETM. Different direct-drive architectures try to enhance effectivity however finally fail to fulfill SWaP-C2 (measurement, weight, energy, value, and cooling) targets resulting from extreme motor sizing and manufacturing prices, it stated.
ETM stated TFM eliminates this trade-off by decoupling magnetic flux from electrical windings, enabling the torque density of high-ratio techniques with the effectivity and thermal reliability of low-ratio drives. The corporate claimed that its patented structure gives as much as 10x better torque density than standard motors.
As well as, ETM stated its TFM know-how has already been confirmed in demanding, high-volume industrial functions.
ETM has changed the “rat’s nest” of copper wiring on a standard motor with a easy, low-resistance round coil. | Supply: ETM
ETM licensing lets OEMs embody motors in their very own platforms
TFM gives robotics OEMs with another path to counting on exterior part suppliers, stated ETM. They will license its confirmed motor know-how and manufacture it inside their very own platforms fairly than counting on exterior part suppliers.
In contrast to typical provider relationships, ETM stated its licensing mannequin permits companions to retain full manufacturing management and margin whereas leveraging validated structure—accelerating time-to-market and lowering technical threat. This permits OEMs to combine TFM know-how inside their very own designs, use present manufacturing infrastructure, and keep full management over proprietary platforms.
ETM stated its licensing mannequin “turns the long-elusive TFM know-how right into a aggressive benefit companions personal, not a commodity they purchase.”
