Compact Drives

DRIVEN - The Silent Revolution
This latest issue focuses on the new trends and developments found in e-Mobility. We’ve called it the silent revolution. People are increasingly using electrical power for personal transportation and for moving goods from place to place creating new requirements for drive technology. Among the many examples showing the influence of electric drives systems on our daily lives and our mobility, you’ll also learn about battery development at maxon and meet a friendly superhero with a disability. Plus, our expert in technical training, explains the effects of inductance on high speed brushless motors. All this and much, much more!

DRIVEN - How bionics enables new progress
This issue looks at bionic systems with functions that come surprisingly close to nature's originals. We’ll take an inside look at what makes a system intelligent in an in-depth discussion with a maxon motion control specialist. Plus, an expert explains how DC motors may be used as generators.

DRIVEN - Ready for Takeoff!
This issue focuses on the latest emerging trends in the aviation industry.   We’ll take an in depth look at sensorless control of brushless motors designed for aviation. Plus, our Aerospace Project Manager explains how small motors are replacing hydraulic systems. All this and much, much more!

DRIVEN - How startups will change the world!
In this issue, we take an in-depth look at four exciting startups in “Making the future happen!” These are dynamic companies that are playing big roles to make a difference in the world with their exceptional ideas. In addition, our guest author and robotics researcher, Roland Siegwart, writes about the progress and limitations in the field of service robotics. Plus, many other insights into the world of microdrives and their role in these applications.

DRIVEN - Invisible daily helpers
Most people have nothing to do with drive systems in their daily job. However, without being aware of it, you come across them everywhere: in cars, buses, elevators, and even within their own four walls. Drive systems are invisible to ordinary people, but they play an important role in our lives. In this driven, we spend a day with a family and discover some exciting uses for these drives

Motor Type Selection
Parameters that define a motor type are the mechanical output power, the shaft bearing system, the commutation system used, and the possible combinations with gearheads and sensors. The most important criteria include the speed and torque requirements, and the commutation system.

A Must Have Book for Design Engineers
Complete with illustrations, formulas, and explanations for the calculations concerning drive systems, this comprehensive collection is yours FREE! Download Today! Sponsored by Maxon privacy policy

The Factory Of The Future
Digitization and automation will completely change the way we develop and produce products. But what exactly does that mean? And what is behind the terms commonly used to refer to the smart factory? Get maxon’s latest issue of driven to find out more.

Smallest Encoder On The Market
A brushless DC motors with speeds of up to 50,000 rpm and a matching ENX 4 magnetic incremental encoder. Easily combined with a gearhead optimized to achieve longer uptimes. Designed for use in medical technologies.

High Efficiency Motors
To understand the concept of high efficiency motors, you must first know how to calculate efficiency and the losses associated with the motor components themselves.

Five innovations from maxon for SPS 2023
Drive specialist, maxon, is launching five exciting new products at the exhibition in Nuremberg. Among the highlights are the IDX 56 industrial motors combined with angular gearheads and absolute encoders. maxon is also introducing the ESCON2 Module 60...

maxon's ECX PRIME
The ECX PRIME products are particularly powerful, brushless motors with 4-pole rotors and ironless windings. The ECX PRIME 6 in its M HP version is available for the first time with a motor diameter of just 6 millimeters

maxon's growing EC frameless DT motor series
After the successful launch of the EC frameless DT50S and DT50M, this motor series has been strengthened by the addition of the EC frameless DT65 and EC frameless DT85. The new motors are available in two lengths.

maxon's IDX70 modular system expanded to include the GPX70 gearhead
With the GPX70, maxon is expanding the planetary gearhead series by adding a large, configurable industrial gearhead.

maxon's ECX Flat motors with integrated electronics
With the ECX FLAT motors with integrated electronics, the market sees the arrival of compact, brushless maxon motors that add an integrated 4-Q speed controller to a proven high-torque motor design.

maxon's 2023/2024 Product Catalog
maxon offers a wide selection of components: from DC and BLDC motors to gearheads, encoders, positioning controllers, master controllers, and battery management systems. The newly released 2023/2024 catalog provides an overview.

maxon showcases five powerful compact drives at SPS 2022
maxon is launching five new products at the upcoming SPS trade fair in Nuremberg. All products are designed with particularly efficient use of resources and compactness in mind.

Cybathlon & maxon: the Gold Partnership
Drive specialist maxon has been part of the Cybathlon right from the start. Without hesitation, maxon also joined the third edition – as a Gold Partner.

Mars helicopter receives Collier Trophy
The Mars helicopter team is awarded the Collier Trophy for being the first aircraft to achieve powered, controlled flight on another planet. NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter flies with electric motors from the Swiss company maxon, a provider of precision dr...

Highlights from the new maxon product catalog
The arrival of spring also marks the release of maxon’s 2022/23 catalog, with 592 pages and the latest in drive technology. One of the highlights? A radiation-resistant GAMA encoder.

DRIVEN pays a visit to the robot on four legs
Wherever it goes, it is sure to attract attention. The red walking robot ANYmal, on the cover of the maxon magazine DRIVEN, represents the increasing number of inspection robots in use worldwide.

maxon adds dynamism to robotic drives
maxon presents a new frameless BLDC motor with matching encoder that really comes into its own in dynamic applications.  At the same time, we are also presenting a new series of ECX flat motors for a wide range of robotics applications. This he...

maxon Partners with Open-Source Champion Auterion to Galvanize Drone Industry
Strategic partnership will offer industry changing avionics and propulsion system integration for software-defined drones that mark future of drone scaling.  Drive specialist maxon – whose precision electric motors are enabling the autonomous h...

The Mars helicopter makes history - with maxon’s precision motors
Space fans are thrilled: NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter has successfully completed its pioneering flight on Mars. This is the first time in the history of powered, unmanned spaceflight that a device has flown in a controlled manner on another planet.

Now available: new DRIVEN magazine and maxon’s product catalog
The new issue of DRIVEN, the maxon magazine, awaits the reader with fascinating articles about agricultural robotics, drone technology, and cleanrooms. maxon is also releasing the new 2021/2022 product catalog, with over 560 pages of drive systems and ...

Green walls for fighting climate change
Climate change, fine dust pollution, and greening urban living spaces are key topics for the future of our society. All around the world, urban planners are looking for solutions for green architecture and infrastructure. To meet the ecological challen...

In search of signs of life on Mars
Mars once had liquid water and an atmosphere—was there life too? To answer this fundamental question, NASA sends the Perseverance rover, a robot of unparalleled complexity.

Swiss precision motors handle the valuable Mars soil samples
NASA’s Perseverance rover will be landing on Mars on February 18th. Was there once life on Mars? This is the question that one of the most complex robotic systems ever built by humankind has set out to answer. Several of maxon’s electric drives are use...

maxon introduces a multi-axis controller for highly dynamic positioning tasks
maxon is launching the next generation of Motion Controllers with its MiniMACS6-AMP-4/50/10. The controller is ideal for use in applications where PLC solutions may be too expensive or cannot meet customer-specific requirements.

5 challenges an electric motor has to overcome on Mars
Outer space is unforgiving. This is why precision drives embarking on a trip to other planets need to meet extremely high-quality standards. Every Mars drive from maxon is based on a catalog product and is modified for the specific mi...

How to design an exoskeleton
An exoskeleton must be lightweight, compact, powerful, reliable, and easy to use – what could be easier? Many developers around the world dabble in this discipline with different degrees of success. Christian Bermes, head of the VariLeg enhanced team e...

Smart ArM: Pushing the limits of the human body
In view of the Cybathlon 2020, a unique international competition for competitors with disabilities who use bionic assistive technologies, a team of French researchers from the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Robotics (ISIR) in Paris has developed...

Trap the trash
A spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) has been given responsibility for a EUR 100 million project by the European Space Agency, ESA. ClearSpace SA now heads a consortium developing the first debris removal mission...

IP65, IP67, IP68…What do protection ratings mean?
If you are working on a project that calls for an electric motor unit, you will certainly have come across the terms IP65, IP67 and IP68. What do these protection ratings cover? Which protection should be chosen based on your project? Here's a brief an...

maxon develops ultra-efficient UAV drive with startup Flybotix
maxon has collaborated with drone startup Flybotix to develop performance-optimized brushless DC motors for a new kind of inspection drone. With the know-how gained from this and other projects, maxon is making inroads into the new UAV market, where th...

«driven» takes a look at the fourth planet
Our fascination with Mars is stronger than ever, again and again, researchers are drawn to it. At this very moment, yet another robot mission is on its way to uncover the secrets of Mars. This mission will also involve the first helicopter flight in sp...

Drive technology and design freedom
While the development of e-commerce requires the design of compact AGVs, the democratization of autonomous and connected e-mobility vehicles poses safety challenges. In other sectors, it is becoming essential to propose a specific design in order to of...

maxon and ANYbotics enter into a strategic partnership
Drive specialist maxon, renowned for its Mars motors, is joining forces with the robotics startup ANYbotics and will in future supply the drive systems of the autonomous ANYmal inspection robot. The robot will soon be marketed in large quantities. T...

Moving beyond physical barriers
Robert Riener, the initiator of the Cybathlon, shares his thoughts on how technology can be used to address sensitive issues.

COVID-19: drive technology and physical distancing
The sanitary crisis linked to the diffusion of Covid-19 requires everyone to apply measures of social distancing. Motorized and automated solutions are being developed at high speed as a solution. This article gives an overview of innovations that rein...

maxon drives on the Red Planet
More than 100 electric motors from maxon have been used on the Red Planet and have withstood cosmic radiation, dust storms, and temperature fluctuations. With the Perseverance rover, precision drives are once again flying to Mars. The key to success is...

maxon drives are heading to the Red Planet with NASA’s Perseverance rover
In July, NASA will be sending its fifth rover to Mars. Its main mission is to collect soil samples that will be analyzed on Earth at a later time. The rover will also carry a helicopter that will perform the first flights on the Red Planet. maxon's...

New miniature drives for medical robots and multi-axis systems
maxon is once again expanding its range of configurable drives with more brushless DC motors, gearheads, and encoders from the ECX series. There is also news on positioning controllers in the micro segment.

New maxon product: miniaturized controller
maxon is launching a new, miniaturized controller with a size of only 32 mm x 22 mm as part of its successful line of positioning controllers. The attractive price-performance ratio, with a functionality that’s virtually identical to the larger units, ...

The Cybathlon special issue magazine is now available
At Cybathlon pilots will be navigating obstacle courses with the aid of assistance systems as they battle for victory. maxon has devoted a special magazine to this event and asks: Where is the development of prosthetic devices heading? How do you bu...

CYBATHLON and maxon: Getting ready for round two
At CYBATHLON, people with physical disabilities compete against each other in exciting races—supported by state-of-the-art technical assistance systems. There are new challenges for the contestants and the engineers in all disciplines. As a Presenting ...

maxon is flying to the Sun
In February, Solar Orbiter will start its mission to provide scientists with new data about the Sun. Swiss research and engineering have played a significant role in the construction of the space probe – including drives from maxon.The European Space A...

“driven” explains the factory of the future
Digitization and automation will completely change the way we develop and produce products. But what exactly does that mean? And what is behind the terms commonly used to refer to the smart factory? This issue of driven – the maxon motor magazine – ...