A new pneumatic vanes motor

A small pneumatic motor has been developed as an alternative to electric motors for machining processes at small dimensions with potential use in micromachines and microfactories. The novelty of the present design is based mainly on the use of vanes made of self-lubricating material and pressurized air supplied through a series of holes of a rotating hollow shaft for keeping the vanes in contact with the inner wall of the stator avoiding the use of springs. The pneumatic prototype was extensively characterized in terms of the locked rotor torque, brake power, no-load speed and the volumetric efficiency.