It was his work in the film Winning that gave Paul Newman his introduction to racing. That was in 1968.

In those days, Paul Newman the actor was making three or more motion pictures a year. It took him several years to really get going with racing.

It wasn't until 1972 that he started racing. And for 15 years, he drove from May to October and never did a film. All he did was race.

Today, the Newman-Haas team continues to race. Among the numerous technological improvements to the Newman-Haas cars are devices called "weight jackers." They help raise and lower the cars' rear ends.

The weight jackers on Newman-Haas cars use small, brush-type dc motors from Maxon Motors (Burlingame, CA). Maxon's patented rhombic wound moving coil design helps make these motors robust. The motors use rare-earth magnets that maximize power in a small frame size.

The motors also offer several advantages over conventional dc motors including low inductance, low inertia, an ironless rotor for smooth rotation even at low speeds, and no magnetic saturation.

Prior to the use of motor driven activation, the use of weight jackers on some racing cars had been hand-operated. The drivers turned knobs which forced hydraulic fluid and pressure into the spring platforms. But adjustments meant that the drivers had to take hands off their steering wheels to do so. But with the electrically driven motor activation for the weight jackers, the drivers no longer have to remove their hands from the steering wheel to make adjustments.

Many Maxon motors use powerful rare-earth magnets to maximize torque available in a relatively small package. The efficiency of the rare-earth motors is very important, not just in racing, but other industries as well. The maximum efficiency of Maxon's new RE 30, for example, is 86%, depending on the winding. It is rated at 60 watts, the motor is 68 mm (2.68 in) in length with a maximum continuous torque up to 96.6 mNm (13.7 oz-in).

Racing and other demanding applications also expose motors to high heat. Ambient temperature range for RE motors is from -20 to 100°C (-4 to 212°F). Several different windings are available to match desired speed with available voltage. Matching gear heads are also available with ratios ranging from 3.7:1 up to 4060:1 capable of delivering up to 7.5 Nm (5.53 ft-lb) of intermittent torque.

Due to their high performance and small size, Maxon's RE motors are particularly suitable for a variety of applications including robotics. . . Read the rest of the story here.

Websites to visit:

newman-haas.com
www.maxonmotorusa.com