Motor Technology Options for Handheld Electronic Pipettes

Pipettes are essential laboratory tools that facilitate the transfer of liquid samples from one test receptacle to another. Though pipettes have existed for over a century, modern-day iterations share little with older designs; this is largely due to the shifting nature of laboratory procedures towards utilizing motorized tools and equipment. The inclusion of miniature electric motors within the pipette is an excellent example of this trend.

Bipolar Drives and Unipolar Drives for Stepper Motors: A Comparison

 A stepper motor is a type of brushless DC motor composed of connected coils — called “phases.” These electromechanical devices are generally driven in open loop without a feedback sensor, with current applied on the phases without knowing the rotor position. The rotor moves into alignment by means of the stator’s magnetic flux, generated by the current flowing in the phases. At each pulse, the current can be supplied to the next phase, allowing incremental rotational movements, or steps. There are two methods to supply current in the coil: bipolar and unipolar. This blog post will compare bipolar and unipolar motors.

Motion in Dental Applications

The dental market is growing. An aging population and greater demands for cosmetic dentistry are some of the factors driving this growth.

When it comes to motion for handheld and miniature medical device designs, a standard electrical mini motor may seem like a good starting point. But while a miniature motor generates rotary movement, applications like medical pipettes or syringes, and mesotherapy devices often move loads linearly instead of rotationally. For these medical tools as well as some industrial devices, engineers must develop their own system to translate rotary motion into linear motion. Here are some of the basics to understand when considering your linear motion options.