Electrostatic Motors are Making a Comeback

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An exploded view of an electrostatic motor from manufacturer C-Motive. There is a silvery cylinder on the left, two half silver and half golden disks on either side and two thinner gold disks in the center. A square mountin plate is on the right hand side next to one of the silver/gold disks.

Electrostatic motors are now common in MEMS applications, but researchers at the University of Wisconsin and spinoff C-Motive Technologies have brought macroscale electrostatic motors back. [via MSN/WSJ]

While the first real application of an electric motor was Ben Franklinā€™s electrostatically-driven turkey rotisserie, electromagnetic type motors largely supplanted the technology due to the types of materials available to engineers of the time. Newer dielectric fluids and power electronics now allow electrostatic motors to be better at some applications than their electromagnetic peers.

The main advantage of electrostatic motors is their reduced critical materials use. In particular, electrostatic motors donā€™t require copper windings or any rare earth magnets which are getting more expensive as demand grows for electrically-powered machines. C-Motive is initially targeting direct drive industrial applications, and the ā€œvoltage driven nature of an electrostatic machineā€ means they require less cooling than an electromagnetic motor. They also donā€™t use much if any power when stalled.

Would you like a refresher on how to make static electricity or a deeper dive on how these motors work?



from Blog ā€“ Hackaday https://ift.tt/nkZJ8AS

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