Vending technology is constantly evolving to cater to societies increase in pace and demand. This means the components inside, especially the vending machine motor must evolve too. The term vending machine usually makes people think of a typical soda or bag of chip dispensing apparatus. Due to the advancements in marketing technology, the typical bulky vending machine we have grown accustom to, is no longer the norm. Changes in consumer habits result in vending solutions that offer new types of products like gym locks, sweat bands and protein bars in for gyms. These new styles of automated vending machines utilize advanced mechanics as well as software interfaces to deliver and market a wide variety of these products. As the variety of products grow, the vending machine motor and dispensing technique must evolve as well. New styles of sleek, slim-line vending machines utilize our NEMA 17 stepper motor. Our vending machine motors are designed to have a high holding torque for vertical dispensing. This makes our NEMA 17 stepper motor an easily adaptable solution for all sorts of vending applications.
Nema 17 Stepper Motor for Automated Retail Vending Machines
Overview
ISL was introduced to a company who specialized in manufacturing state of the art Automated Retail Vending Machines. They needed a NEMA 17 stepper motor with an enough torque to dispense a wide variety of products. They were previously using an off-the-shelf vending machine motor that was jamming up due to insufficient torque while trying to dispense heavier items.
Challenge
ISL need to design a NEMA 17 stepper motor with more torque and still be able to fit into the given physical area. The customer requested that the ISL vending machine motor had a torque value of at least 5.8 kg-cm in order to dispense products with varying weights.
ISL was asked to deliver the goods directly to their manufacturing facility in Asia. This was also a price sensitive component.
Solution
ISL came up with a NEMA 17 stepper motor solution with a 6.0 kg-cm torque value. It was slightly larger than the incumbent vending machine motor, but it fit within the customers’ physical parameters. When ISL’s stepper motors were installed into the vending machine, all of the items were dispensed flawlessly, even the heaviest ones. We added the customer’s desired JST connector as well so our stepper motor is a complete “plug and play” component. This helped to streamline the assembly and integration process.
ISL manufactures and releases these stepper motors directly from our factory to the customers manufacturing facility in Asia. We ship against a blanket PO so the customer is able to benefit from higher quantity price breaks and a JIT inventory model.
