No. 561: A very small rare earth-less motor that is 30% lighter than the existing product (July 13, 2012)

Technology:

Mabuchi Motor, Japan’s leading maker of very small motors, developed a rare earth-less motor for automobile door mirrors that is about 30% lighter than the existing motor of the same kind, while maintaining the same power output. The company put it on the market because the product features will be well accepted by auto part makers. The motor is to move the mirror of an automobile door mirror from side to side and up and down. It weighs about 16 g with a power output of 0.1-1.0 watt. It is about 30% lighter and 30% smaller in volume than the existing product.

It is generally necessary to use rare earthes like neodymium to make a motor lighter while maintaining the same power output, but the company eliminated the necessity of rare earthes by improving the design of the magnetic circuit. Besides, the company successfully reduced the sound coming from the new motor to 75% of the sound coming from existing product to comply with the request for a quieter motor from electric vehicle makers.   

Very small rare earth-less motors from Mabuchi Motor. The company made them 30% lighter and 30% smaller in volume in addition to reducing the sound, while maintaining the same power output