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Case Studies

6V DC Motor with Spur Gearbox for Hands-Free Products: Automated Paper Towel Dispenser

Motion Solutions for Hands-Free Products

Hands free products have become increasingly popular and even more important during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ranging from an automatic paper towel dispenser to soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, people expect these types of products to be available in public areas. Typically, a touch-less paper towel dispenser is run by a 6v DC motor or gear motor. ISL Products offers low current draw, 6V DC motor high torque options for battery powered devices. These are especially useful for an automatic paper towel dispenser that draws down battery power quickly.

Most hands-free products require a 6V dc motor with high torque. The most common products are soap and sanitizer dispensers, touch-less faucets and toilets, and automatic garbage lid openers. Whether the 6v DC motor requires a gearbox or not depends on the torque and speed needed from the motor to perform the task. Either way, efficiency is key and ISL Products will solve any inefficiency problems you may have.

Find a Gear Motor Solution

  • 6V DC Spur Gear Motor - High Torque

    30mm Spur Gear Motor

  • 6V DC Spur Gear Motor

    30mm Spur Gear Motor Cross Section

  • Automatic Paper Towel Dispenser

    Automatic Paper Towel Dispenser

Overview

A leading manufacturer of a battery-operated paper towel dispenser was experiencing shorter than desired battery life during product use. The dispenser was using a 6V DC spur gear motor that was drawing too much current, creating a significant drain on the product’s power bank of batteries.

Challenge

The customer tasked us with developing a direct drop-in replacement spur gear motor that would draw 25% – 50% less current than their existing motor. During our investigation of the incumbent gear motor, we found that the current draw was 800 – 850mA. Another issue we came across was that over time the excessive brush and commutator wear escalated the current draw even further. Additional investigation of similar motors, from several motor manufacturers, showed a range of current draw, under load, of 800mA – 1400mA. The customer requested that we find a way to reduce that current down to 600mA or less.

Solution

ISL Products International and our team of engineers tore down the incumbent motors and found a myriad of factors that contributed to the higher current draw issue that our customer was experiencing. Some factors included excessive brush and commutator wear and in some cases foreign conductive material floating within the motor itself creating unwanted spikes in the current draw.

The ISL engineers and our factory’s engineering department agreed on a methodology for improving the motor and bringing the current draw in line with the customer’s expectations. Through the use of high-quality raw materials, good manufacturing practices (GMP), and techniques of our factory, ISL was successful in developing high efficiency, low current gear motor that reached the targeted current draw of 590mA.

Conclusion

The customer’s product is now getting the expected battery life that their product was designed for. Plenty of paper towels were dispensed! Contact our team of engineers to learn how we can help you get your  product moving.

Samples of a similar gear motor can be found at DigiKey:

MOT-I-81214-CBO

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