The World’s Smallest Stepping Motors. What is a stepping motor? Glad you asked. Goodness, is that the time…sorry, gotta rush. Get back to you on that later. Anyhoo, look out for one in a digital camera near you sometime soon.
The newly developed motors “SSM-4029” and “SSM-4049” measure diameter: 4.0 mm x length: 2.9 mm and 4.0 x 4.9 mm, respectively. The former motor is the world’s smallest at practical level and produces a torque of 0.033 mN·m. The latter motor boasts a torque of 0.059 mN·m, which is equivalent to that of the previous product although its length has been reduced. Both models exhibit a high resolution featuring a step angle of 18°.
A stepping motor turns a set number of degrees when voltage is applied (instead of just whirring around and around). They ‘know’ where they are too – you use them to control things like robot arms or a robot’s wheel (you can tell it to move a fixed amount) or killer robots that take over the world….oops, my bad, just a little basment project…..