Remember the good old days when one had to manually turn a hand-crank on the inside of the car door to make the window go up or down? Or how about when a ‘portable’ drill was only as portable as the length of its power cord? For those of you who don’t remember these two applications, I’m feeling a bit nostalgic. I still use an old-fashioned ‘portable’ drill like this on occasion. So what has been happening that makes these two old-school manual processes (and many others too) a thing of the past?
Advancements in DC motor technology, manufacturing capabilities and sophisticated, low-cost digital and analog electronics have enabled small DC motors to be used as a cost-effective way to automate operations that used to be done manually in a variety of applications including medical devices, toys, industrial automation, power tools and automobiles. Nowhere is this trend more obvious then in the automobile. Many of the operations that used to be done manually are now automated using motors. Seat adjustment, window open/close, mirror adjustment, and cabin temperature control are just a few examples of where small DC motors automate processes that used to be done manually. Market data suggests that there are more than 30 small DC motors per vehicle today with a forecast of close to 40 per vehicle in five years. At a worldwide manufacturing rate of between 50M and 60M automobiles per year, it is easy to see why the automotive market helps to drive this automation trend.
So what the does future hold? The trend to automate simple manual processes by the use of small DC motors will continue as the costs of the motors and drive electronics continue to go lower. I look forward to the day when there is a cost-effective automated solution that allows me to not have to get up from what I am doing to the age-old question, “Honey, can you take out the trash?”
