Drive controls solar tracking device
Monday, 02 August, 2010
Saving power through design
The unique harmonic drive principle continues to open new applications in all areas of modern engineering. It is available in a wide selection of mechanical configurations and is used extensively in robots, machine tools, radars and any applications with a rotating shaft where positioning, tilting and panning is required because of its high accuracy and no backlash.
The compact CSF-GH range gearhead is lightweight in construction and therefore suitable for use in the positioning of pyrheliometers and sunphotometers with a solar tracker. Its operating principles mean that the gear teeth are continually preloaded, hence there is no backlash in the tooth mesh.
Due to the precise movement and zero backlash of the harmonic drive, solar tracker manufacturer Middleton Solar has improved the efficiency in its latest design. The design change replaces the worm and wheel method, which was considered to be fragile and inefficient.
By incorporating the harmonic drive, Middleton Solar has also found a considerable reduction in power consumption, which is a critical factor as these devices can be located in remote areas using battery DC power supply.
The gearheads are also available as compact servo drives with an integrated motor.
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