How miniaturisation drives innovation
ELECTRICAL & ELECTRONICS POWER IN SMALL PACKAGES
EMS
How miniaturisation drives innovation
Like the evolution from bulky cassette-based Walkman to today’ s pocket-sized smartphones that can store and play tens of thousands of songs— modern engineering also demands greater capability within dramatically reduced physical footprints. Whether it’ s surgical robots that must fit advanced sensors into tight spaces, or aircraft systems where lighter parts translate directly into fuel savings, miniaturisation brings both opportunities and challenges in design. Here, Chris Handcock, design lead at drive system supplier Electro Mechanical Systems, explores how miniaturisation is changing product design.
Over the past 20 years, we’ ve seen huge cube-like TVs shrink to a centimetre thick, while terabytes of data can now sit on a chip no bigger than a fingernail. This change is apparent across industry too. Smaller, lighter, more efficient systems offer clear advantages, but miniaturising drive systems isn’ t simply a matter of scaling down existing motor designs. It must carefully balance torque, power density, motor type and thermal management.
Accelerating miniaturisation across industries
Medical devices such as minimally invasive surgical tools, diagnostic sensors and compact implantable systems require tiny, highperformance components. Take for example, robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery. Here, miniature drive systems are used to actuate wristed end-effectors within instrument shafts often less than 10mm in diameter. These systems must deliver high torque at low speeds to enable precise articulation, while maintaining minimal backlash and low inertia for accurate, repeatable motion. Thermal performance is tightly constrained because heat generated within the motor or gearbox must remain below thresholds that could affect surrounding tissue. As a result, the motor’ s architecture, gear reduction, materials selection and thermal modelling become critical at the first point of design.
In aerospace and automotive applications, every gram of weight removed can contribute to greater fuel efficiency, reduced payload, and better design flexibility. Whereas, in industrial automation, robotics and consumer electronics increasingly rely on compact motors and electronics to deliver power and precision in confined spaces.
While each sector seeks different benefits of miniaturisation, they all share the same set of pressures— limited space, demand for mobility or portability and a need for functionality without bulk. As a result, shrinking component size has become a strategic choice and designers are rethinking the architecture, materials and even manufacturing techniques to meet these demands.
A question of compromise
But reducing size can bring trade-offs. Small motors do not
48 PECM Issue 81