Interesting, though there are a few details I feel were elided that would make me more interested: When the authors of the paper say that it is “competitive with or superior to air-cooled magnetic...
Interesting, though there are a few details I feel were elided that would make me more interested:
When the authors of the paper say that it is “competitive with or superior to air-cooled magnetic machinery at the fractional [horsepower] scale,” is that on energy efficiency, manufacturing cost, or some other measure?
Given that these motors will need to be packed in their custom organic liquid, what's the expected lifespan and maintenance requirements? Simple electromagnetic motors can work a century or more after being manufactured with minimal maintenance if they aren't physically mangled. Will these need more frequent replacement?
I don't want to take away from the cleverness of having taken advantage of advances in transistor design to make this possible, but the layer of marketing speech makes me wary about the actual competitiveness of electrostatic motors to overturn the dominance of electromagnetism.
Quotes like this make me think that it's not competitive, nor will it ever be on manufacturing costs. Extremely tight tolerance, delicate, large moving parts are very difficult and expensive to...
C-Motive’s motor uses nonconductive rotor and stator disks on which have been deposited many thin, closely spaced conductors radiating outward from the disk’s center, like spokes in a bicycle wheel.
Quotes like this make me think that it's not competitive, nor will it ever be on manufacturing costs.
Extremely tight tolerance, delicate, large moving parts are very difficult and expensive to manufacture. Yes, electromagnetic motors use a large volume of copper, which is fairly expensive, but they're just wound around very quickly without much precision needed. The tolerances for a magnetic field aren't too tight, and you end up with a very durable part that's easy to slap together and fairly rugged.
Based on the description of this electrostatic motor, it seems like a way more sophisticated part that requires specialized equipment to put together and doesn't sound nearly as robust.
Yeah. My read on this is that it could be great for electromagneticically sensitive situations where a traditional electric motor is too disruptive, but talking about the total size of the...
Yeah. My read on this is that it could be great for electromagneticically sensitive situations where a traditional electric motor is too disruptive, but talking about the total size of the fractional horsepower motor market is wildly optimistic.
Honestly, given that they are are using 3 kV to create the needed electric fields, I doubt they are less disruptive (electromagnetically) than traditional solutions. Except if you are talking...
Honestly, given that they are are using 3 kV to create the needed electric fields, I doubt they are less disruptive (electromagnetically) than traditional solutions.
Except if you are talking about effects propagating back into the local power grid, in which case I could see theoretical benefits.
Any mention of the expected cost per unit is very conspicuously absent in the entire article. Considering that I can get a 3.5 kW three-phase motor together with a variable-frequency drive (both...
Any mention of the expected cost per unit is very conspicuously absent in the entire article.
Considering that I can get a 3.5 kW three-phase motor together with a variable-frequency drive (both coming from reputable brands like Siemens) for less than 400€ combined, I can't really see their efficiency gains being able to catch up with the undoubtedly higher costs of manufacturing and maintenance.
Interesting, though there are a few details I feel were elided that would make me more interested:
I don't want to take away from the cleverness of having taken advantage of advances in transistor design to make this possible, but the layer of marketing speech makes me wary about the actual competitiveness of electrostatic motors to overturn the dominance of electromagnetism.
Quotes like this make me think that it's not competitive, nor will it ever be on manufacturing costs.
Extremely tight tolerance, delicate, large moving parts are very difficult and expensive to manufacture. Yes, electromagnetic motors use a large volume of copper, which is fairly expensive, but they're just wound around very quickly without much precision needed. The tolerances for a magnetic field aren't too tight, and you end up with a very durable part that's easy to slap together and fairly rugged.
Based on the description of this electrostatic motor, it seems like a way more sophisticated part that requires specialized equipment to put together and doesn't sound nearly as robust.
Yeah. My read on this is that it could be great for electromagneticically sensitive situations where a traditional electric motor is too disruptive, but talking about the total size of the fractional horsepower motor market is wildly optimistic.
Honestly, given that they are are using 3 kV to create the needed electric fields, I doubt they are less disruptive (electromagnetically) than traditional solutions.
Except if you are talking about effects propagating back into the local power grid, in which case I could see theoretical benefits.
There's been some progress in using PCBs for copper windings, maybe they could so something similar for electrostatic?
Any mention of the expected cost per unit is very conspicuously absent in the entire article.
Considering that I can get a 3.5 kW three-phase motor together with a variable-frequency drive (both coming from reputable brands like Siemens) for less than 400€ combined, I can't really see their efficiency gains being able to catch up with the undoubtedly higher costs of manufacturing and maintenance.