Stober has developed a hollow-shaft geared servomotor which a novel winding arrangement and a special gearbox claimed to make it much smaller than most of its rivals. The PipeDrive motor offers torque ratings up to 500Nm and bore diameters up to 38mm, allowing screws, cables, pipes and other items to pass through.

The motor (shown below) uses a similar winding technology to Stober’s recent EZ servomotors. The windings are created with the stator “unfolded” into a flat position. This technique results in the highest possible copper fill factor, and boosts the motor’s power output by around 80%, allowing it to be almost half as long as usual, without reducing its output. The motor also incorporates a new lamination technology that uses glue rather than welding, and is said to result in higher steel fill factors than usual.

The specially developed planetary gears are available in one, two or three stage designs, all said to have a high tilting stiffness. The motors are available in four lengths covering speeds from 150–1,500 rpm and acceleration torque levels from 30–200Nm – or up to 500Nm using optional liquid-cooled versions.