Keigan Motor

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Just came across this **LINK**

https://keigan-motor.com/en/

Looks like an interesting development, although I’ve not yet found a price.

MichaelG.

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

[David NobleParticipant @davidnoble71990]

Does look interesting, no mention of power consumption though.

David

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

I wonder if it develops enough torque to use as a positional indexer linked to a rotary table ? If so I want one for all those odd number of positions on things like motorcycle sprockets.

Michael, post a price if you find one. Chris.

[JohnFParticipant @johnf59703]

MichaelG very interesting wonder where they will be in a few years ?

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

I’ve found the kickstarter page: **LINK**

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1169608336/keigan-motor-you-can-make-a-robot-incredibly-quick

Projected retail price is given as $349

 

I have also downloaded the iOS App for a look-see

… my first impressions of this are very favourable

 

MichaelG.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 10/12/2019 10:17:08

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

I imagine there will be endless possible uses for these, limited really by imagination.

Brian

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

Its more a marketing thing than any new type of motor. From the description it is a well thought out combination of brushless servo motor, controller and a battery together with clever software all put together in a versatile enclosure.

I can think of lots of uses for it (camera and lens motion control) although once I found that it worked in a particular application I would probably end up re-engineering it and have the power supplies etc separated.

Ian P

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Looks like an adaptation of a brushless DC motor similar to those used for hard disk drive spindles or possibly just a stepper. Torque looks pretty low. At about £300 per motor I don't think it is very cost effective. It is also aimed at those with low or no technical skill and no metalworking capability which is a bit of an antithesis for this forum.

Robert G8RPI.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Definitely not an investment opportunity. It will be copied at half the price in no time as there is nothing new and patentable in it. The only market is schools and labs with a large budget and wanting a quick solution or we could use a few at work if we happened to have spare money to burn at the end of the financial year. The phone app control is attractive to the ipad generation but will need a proper open interface to be integrated into anything serious and not via some mystery manufacturer website like some IOT devices.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Robert Atkinson 2 on 10/12/2019 12:44:30:

Looks like an adaptation of a brushless DC motor similar to those used for hard disk drive spindles or possibly just a stepper. Torque looks pretty low. At about £300 per motor I don't think it is very cost effective. It is also aimed at those with low or no technical skill and no metalworking capability which is a bit of an antithesis for this forum.

Robert G8RPI.

Not sure I'd be quite so dismissive. Most of the website is in Japanese, so it's not completely clear what you get. However the motor spec is 0.3Nm. and 0.1 to 250rpm, almost certainly a stepper, but it might be hybrid or closed loop.

On the software side, the video shows the motors being controlled by via Bluetooth or USB by a Smartphone application. This is basic get-you-started stuff, good fun on xmas day, but also for learning about more serious possibilities.

Digging clues out of the Japanese website though, the motors also have grown-up control capability, with support for rolling your own on Arduino, RaspberryPi and Obniz. Probably others. I'm impressed by anyone who thinks Internet of Things applications require low technical skill!

I'm reminded of Meccano. Easy to dismiss as a children's toy, but used by adults to make superb models, and prototypes. This 6-speed gearbox isn't a plaything!

My school had a working seismograph built from Meccano. Main problem was it detected heavy footed boys more often than earthquakes.

Dave

[Ian PParticipant @ianp]

I agree with most of your post SoD, I am pretty sure though its not a stepper motor, its more likely a motor very similar to those used in the larger brushless gimbals. In the video there is no sign of cogging when the presenter rotates the motor by hand.

I can see it finding a market in the educational field.

Ian P

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