Voice coil motors
GEEPLUS
Characteristics & Selection of
Voice Coil Motors
Voice Coil Motor Characteristics
Voice Coil Motors are highly controllable electrical actuators suitable for
applications needing only limited displacement. They offer the following
features:
x Fast operation ʹ Low electrical inductance, and low moving mass enable
fast inflow of current and high acceleration. Acceleration of >500G is
possible with custom devices
x Controllability ʹ Force is proportional to applied current, and is uniform
ƚŚƌŽƵŐŚĂĚŝƐƉůĂĐĞŵĞŶƚƚŚĂƚĐĂŶďĞƐĞǀĞƌĂůϭϬ͛ƐŽĨŵŵŽƌseveral ϭϬ͛ƐŽĨ
degrees rotation
x Low hysteresis ʹ The magnetic behaviour is free of hysteresis over
typical operating areas, depending on the type of bearings used, very
low hysteresis can be realised
x Reliability ʹ side forces
developed are negligible, so
bearing loading can be very
low to enable long life
operation
x Simplicity ʹ the voice coil
motor is a single pole device
requiring no commutation.
Both the device itself, and
the associated controller can
be very simple and robust
x Flexible Configuration ʹ the
principle of operation lends
itself to many different
mechanical layouts allowing great flexibility in design of associated
systems
x Flexible Production ʹ Most product configurations can be produced
without requiring tooling for prototypes, or for limited production
volumes ʹ product design needs to allow for manufacturing methods
appropriate to customer volume requirements
Custom Designs
Custom designs can incorporate many different features including the
following :
x Flexible circuit termination of
the coil provides reliable electrical
connection with repeatable low
resistance to movement and low
friction (hysteresis). Body is extended
with end cover providing a sealed unit
with easy electrical termination
x Flat coil design allows pivoting
motion and tolerance to some
variation in position of the coil relative
to magnet assembly.
x Flex circuit is used for easy
termination
x End cover and flex circuit allow
sealed unit with reliable, low-friction
electrical connection. Connector
allows easy installation and
replacement.
x Special tip fitted to shaft
x Steel flexure guidance provides
repeatable, friction-free guidance of
the shaft with unlimited life
expectancy
x Multiple poles for higher
force and efficiency with
reduced size and mass, use of
multipole designs may be
inappropriate to applications
requiring large displacement
x Aluminium coil windings
enable reduced moving mass
for high acceleration, the flat
design illustrated uses multiple
poles and aluminium coil
winding to achieve force
capability >50N peak with coil
mass <12g for acceleration
capability >400G
x Rolling element bearings
provide more precise guidance,
and more repeatable friction
behaviour when subjected to
variable side loading, the part
shown also employs flexible
circuit termination and a
focussed radial magnet
assembly for higher force /
mass and better dynamic
performance
x Position encoder with resolution to
<1µm for closed loop (servo) control
x Multiple coil and lightweight titanium
shaft for high force / mass ratio
x Rolling element bearings for high
precision, long life linear guidance
x Flex termination integrated within
compact design
VM Series Description
Standard Voice Coil Motors of Geeplus VM series incorporate shafts and
bearings to ensure accurate guidance of the coil assembly within the magnet
assembly, and to facilitate easy installation in customer applications. For wear
resistance and good surface finish along with required magnetic properties the
shaft material is either stainless steel (hardenable stainless steel may be
slightly magnetic and have a slight influence on the force characteristic, nonmagnetic stainless steel is softer and more susceptible to damage) or titanium.
The magnet assembly of VM series is designed for good volumetric efficiency
and useful linear stroke, these characteristics may be at the expense of some
loss of linearity. High Energy Density magnets drive the material of the voice
coil pot (housing) close to magnetic saturation to develop the strongest
possible magnetic field. Custom designs can demonstrate better linearity at
the expense of increased size / weight & cost.
x Coils of standard VM series are normally designed to use the full depth
of the pot assembly. This results in maximum mechanical work output
capability, but may result in a force characteristic which is not ideally
suited to a given application. The portion of the coil which lies outside
the airgap field dissipates power (as heat) but develops no useful force.
x The linear range of a voice coil (the range within which developed force
is >90% of peak force) will normally be roughly equal to the difference
between the coil length, and the length of the pole.
x For maximum force, the coil length and pole length should be
approximately equal in length, but the linear range with this
configuration will be small.
x For best linearity, one of the coil and polepiece should be longer than
the other by the linear range required. It is usually more cost effective to
make the coil longer than the magnet assembly ʹ making the coil shorter
than the polepiece results in lower moving mass and faster dynamic
response, but this may require a more massive and expensive magnet
assembly to produce a required force characteristic.
Mechanical Integrity
The design of VM series devices ensures good concentricity and mechanical
integrity of the complete device. Accurate fixtures are used in assembly to
control assembly dimensions, and coil assemblies are individually measured to
ensure concentricity and clearance with the magnet assembly. All devices are
designed to ensure that finite clearances are maintained throughout an
operating range from 0ºC to 130ºC.
Electrical Termination
Connection to the moving coil of a voice coil motor must be implemented with
care to ensure reliable operation. Flexible cable with many fine strands and
Silicone Rubber insulation can provide reliable termination, care should be
taken that the leads are mechanically secured to the moving assembly
preferably at some distance from the soldered joints (solder fuses the strands
together, and leads to large stresses being applied to the termination pins, or
to fatigue adjacent to the fused
portion of the wire). The leads
should be carefully routed to
minimise stress. A more
consistent means of
termination is to use a flexible
circuit, this option is offered for
several of the VM series devices
(see picture).
GEEPLUS
VM1614
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
VM1614-200
VM1614-180
VM1614-125
VM1614-100
Resistance
Inductance
R20
2.8 ё
4.5 ё
16.3 ё
43.0 ё
P100
5W
Total Mass
15 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
3g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
22 s
9s
3s
0.8 N
1.1 N
1.7 N
2.3 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
0.2 mH
0.3 mH
0.0 mH
4.0 mH
0.7 N/A
0.7 N/A
1.5 N/A
2.4 N/A
0.7 Vs/m
1129 mA
0.8 Vs/m
891 mA
0.0 Vs/m
468 mA
2.4 Vs/m
288 mA
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
1
2
151 A-t (100% ED)
3
303 A-t (25% ED)
4
478 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
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5
6
GEEPLUS
VM2436
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Resistance
Inductance
R20
Model No.
1.0 ё
17.8 ё
107.0 ё
VM2436-375
VM2436-180
VM2436-112
0.2 mH
3.6 mH
22.0 mH
P100
12.5 W
Total Mass
95 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
9g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
22 s
9s
3s
2.7 N
3.8 N
5.2 N
7.5 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
0.7 N/A
2.9 N/A
6.7 N/A
0.0 Vs/m
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
2.99 A
0.0 Vs/m
708 mA
0.0 Vs/m
289 mA
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm) [outwards direction]
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
2
4
6
403 A-t (100% ED)
8
10
807 A-t (25% ED)
12
14
16
1274 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
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20
GEEPLUS
VM2618 & VM2836
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
Resistance
Inductance
R20
9.6 ё
34.4 ё
55.0 ё
286.0 ё
VM2xxx-180
VM2xxx-132
VM2xxx-112
VM2xxx-080
P100
8W
Total Mass
60 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
6g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
55 s
12 s
3s
3.4 N
4.8 N
7.0 N
10.6 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
1.3 mH
5.3 mH
7.3 mH
40.0 mH
4 N/A
8 N/A
9 N/A
21 N/A
3.2 Vs/m
771 mA
8.1 Vs/m
407 mA
9.6 Vs/m
322 mA
22.0 Vs/m
141 mA
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
1
2
180 A-t (100% ED)
3
4
360 A-t (25% ED)
5
6
570 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
7
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GEEPLUS
VM3322 & VM3334
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
VM33xx-315
VM33xx-180
VM33xx-125
VM33xx-090
Resistance
Inductance
R20
1.0 ё
10.9 ё
47.7 ё
173.0 ё
P100
8W
Total Mass
140 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
9g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
17 s
6s
2s
5.0 N
7.0 N
9.5 N
14.0 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
0.2 mH
3.0 mH
13.0 mH
44.0 mH
2 N/A
6 N/A
13 N/A
24 N/A
0.0 Vs/m
2.4 A
0.0 Vs/m
724 mA
0.0 Vs/m
346 mA
0.0 Vs/m
182 mA
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
1
2
190 A-t (100% ED)
3
380 A-t (25% ED)
4
600 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
5
6
GEEPLUS
VM4032 & VM4040
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
VM40xx-315
VM40xx-250
VM40xx-200
16 W
Total Mass
230 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
25 g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
90 s
28 s
8s
9.0 N
12.0 N
15.0 N
26.0 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
Resistance
Inductance
R20
4.3 ё
12.8 ё
26.0 ё
P100
1.5 mH
5.2 mH
7.8 mH
5 N/A
10 N/A
12 N/A
6.4 Vs/m
1.6 A
11.2 Vs/m
0.9 A
14.4 Vs/m
0.7 A
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
2
4
326 A-t (100% ED)
6
652 A-t (25% ED)
8
1030 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus reserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
10
12
GEEPLUS
VM4632
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
VM4632-355
VM4632-250
VM4632-200
VM4632-180
Resistance
Inductance
R20
2.5 ё
10.1 ё
24.5 ё
35.0 ё
P100
21 W
Total Mass
360 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
23 g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
27 s
10 s
3s
13.0 N
16.0 N
23.5 N
36.0 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
0.8 mH
3.7 mH
9.7 mH
12.1 mH
6 N/A
13 N/A
20 N/A
23 N/A
5.3 Vs/m
2.5 A
12.4 Vs/m
1.2 A
18.7 Vs/m
0.8 A
21.0 Vs/m
0.7 A
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
2
4
277 A-t (100% ED)
6
554 A-t (25% ED)
8
876 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
10
12
GEEPLUS
VM5042 & VM5050
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
Resistance
Inductance
R20
2.5 ё
15.0 ё
45.0 ё
VM50xx-400
VM50xx-250
VM50xx-190
1.3 mH
5.6 mH
20.0 mH
P100
24 W
Total Mass
480 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
35 g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
65 s
12 s
3s
19.0 N
27.0 N
37.0 N
54.0 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
7 N/A
17 N/A
30 N/A
8.0 Vs/m
2.6 A
19.5 Vs/m
1.1 A
35.0 Vs/m
0.6 A
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
1
2
425 A-t (100% ED)
3
4
850 A-t (25% ED)
5
6
1345 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
7
8
GEEPLUS
KNI
Model No.
VM6340
0.075 N/A-t
Resistance Inductance
2.5 ё
15.3 ё
45.0 ё
VM6340-400
VM6340-250
VM6340-190
2.1 mH
6.4 mH
20.0 mH
P100
P10
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
10 N/A
25 N/A
44 N/A
24 W
240 W
Total Mass
Coil Mass
750 g
40 g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
12.0 Vs/m
3.1 A
29.0 Vs/m
1.3 A
52.0 Vs/m
0.7 A
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
ь
0s
0s
0s
33.0 N
46.0 N
65.0 N
100.0 N
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0
1
2
425 A-t (100% ED)
3
4
850 A-t (25% ED)
5
6
1344 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
7
8
GEEPLUS
VM6548
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Resistance
Inductance
R20
Model No.
7.8 ё
23.3 ё
121.0 ё
VM6548-400
VM6548-315
VM6548-200
7.4 mH
12.0 mH
96.0 mH
P100
28 W
Total Mass
950 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
90 g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
ь
90 s
35 s
13 s
24.0 N
34.0 N
49.0 N
77.0 N
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
19 N/A
32 N/A
72 N/A
22.0 Vs/m
1.6 A
36.0 Vs/m
0.9 A
80.0 Vs/m
0.4 A
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
2
4
6
560 A-t (100% ED)
8
10
1121 A-t (25% ED)
12
14
16
1771 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
18
20
GEEPLUS
VM8054 & VM8080
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
VM80xx-630
VM80xx-400
VM80xx-250
50 W
Total Mass
1700 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
150 g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
Resistance
Inductance
R20
2.3 ё
11.5 ё
85.0 ё
P100
10 N/A
24 N/A
62 N/A
10.6 mH
77.0 mH
1.8 A
86.0 Vs/m
0.6 A
ь
100 s
100 s
0s
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
3.9 A
34.0 Vs/m
43.0 N
62.0 N
85.0 N
130.0 N
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
160
Stroke Limit
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
5
10
793 A-t (100% ED)
15
1586 A-t (25% ED)
20
25
2505 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus reserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
30
GEEPLUS
VM102P2
P100 is the continuous (100% ED) excitation power at
which the coil attains temperature Tmax with the part
mounted to a massive heatsink at 20϶C
Model No.
Resistance
Inductance
R20
2.1 ё
10.5 ё
33.4 ё
VM102P2-710
VM102P2-475
VM102P2-355
0.6 mH
3.0 mH
9.5 mH
P100
105 W
Total Mass
4200 g
Tmax
130 ϶C
Coil Mass
325 g
Current
I100
Max 'ON' time
Peak
Force
Force
Velocity
Constant Constant
37 N/A
83 N/A
147 N/A
0.0 Vs/m
6.0 A
0.0 Vs/m
2.7 A
0.0 Vs/m
1.5 A
100% ED
50% ED
25% ED
10% ED
ь
100 s
35 s
11 s
222.0 N
310.0 N
440.0 N
700.0 N
Force (N) vs Displacement (mm)
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0
1
2
1120 A-t (100% ED)
3
4
2240 A-t (25% ED)
5
6
3540 A-t (10% ED)
Geeplus rerserves the right to change specifications without notice
www.geeplus.biz e-mail: info@geeplus.biz
7
8