Danaher Motion to Supply New Brushless Servo Motors to Segway Company

ROCKFORD, ILL.

December 4, 2001 – Danaher Motion, through its Pacific Scientific business, announced its key supplier role with the Segway Company, providing brushless servo motors for the Segway™ Human Transporter (HT), a self-balancing, electric-powered transportation device introduced today.

"We're excited to have been chosen to be a key supplier to the Segway Company for its Human Transporter. The motor we developed for Segway is a breakthrough technology for our company, demonstrating our ability to collaborate with our customers to bring innovative solutions to their motion challenges,” says Tom Gross, Danaher Group Executive, on Pacific Scientific's role in the development of the specialized motor.

The electric motor has features unique to brushless servo motor technology, and some not seen on motors of any type. A new sensor design allows precision feedback to the motor's drive electronics without the need for a traditional encoder or resolver. A patented hemispherically-wound stator features redundant windings – effectively two completely functioning motors in one shell. This means that if one set of windings were to fail completely, the motor can continue to operate. As an offshoot of this winding technology, the motor's size is substantially reduced.

The motor's construction also uses a proprietary injection-molding process to mold key components of the motor and encapsulate the windings in one step. This process simplifies manufacturing and brings the added benefits of higher quality and improved motor performance.

The result is a motor with 40 percent more torque per unit of volume than comparably sized motors.

“Pacific Scientific’s engineering experience with different motor types was especially beneficial to us. Collaborating with Pacific Scientific from the earliest stages of development, we were able to take advantage of their broad knowledge of brushless servo motor technology,” said J. Douglas Field, vice president, product development and chief engineer, Segway Company. “Working with our requirements, they were able to develop a motor that met all our performance needs: size, power output, and efficiency.”

Pacific Scientific is a 45-year-old manufacturer of electric motors and drives providing innovative motion solutions to a wide range of technology markets worldwide. They are a part of Danaher Motion, which also includes Kollmorgen, Superior Electric and API.

Danaher Corporation is a leading manufacturer of Process/Environmental Controls and Tools and Components.