Power Transmission Engineering Magazine
www.powertransmission.com/articles/8176

Moog Brushless Motor Gives Oxygen Therapy the Silent Treatment

July 7, 2021
For patients reliant on oxygen therapy for a severe lung disease, oxygen concentrators offer more mobility than heavy, bulky oxygen tanks. But patients say even smaller devices weighing as little as five pounds and measuring less than 12 inches wide and tall can be noisy and tiring to carry. To hurdle these challenges, Moog Industrial Controls segment, a division of Moog Inc., offers designers and makers of medical equipment the Silencer BN Series Brushless DC Motors for oxygen concentrators. The smallest Silencer motor, including housing, measures 1.2 inches in diameter and 1.3 inches long. The Silencer series motors have a continuous torque ranging from 2.4 to 519 ounces per inch, speeds up to 20,000 rpm and range-rated power up to 874 watts. 

“By using the compact Silencer motor series in an oxygen concentrator’s compressor system, designers can make these systems far smaller and more easily carried,” said Michael Starks, Moog’s design engineering manager in Murphy (NC), “The smooth-running Silencer means low noise—hardly perceptible acoustically—for patients requiring an oxygen concentrator throughout their daily activities and at night while sleeping.”

The Silencer’s high level of efficiency ensures a longer battery operating life for oxygen concentrators, whether running in a pulse-flow or continuous mode. Moog also designed the Silencer with high-energy magnets and exceptional winding density to not only reduce the motor’s size but also generate nearly twice as much torque as conventional stator technology.

“Along with oxygen concentrators, ventilators are an application in which medical equipment makers successfully use Silencer motors,” added Moog’s Robbie Queen, sales manager at Moog Murphy. “We supply the entire air blower, consisting of both motor and integrated fan.”

In addition to the Silencer motors, Moog offers machine designers precision drive technology for medical and laboratory applications such as centrifuges, filling and metering systems, shaker incubators and heart-lung machines.