Leading the new wave of electrification, a Fort Worth-based technology company has built an electric motor that can fit inside one’s pocket, now available for any home or industrial-size projects.
Linear Labs, which made technological strides with its highly-efficient HET motor, devised a way to incorporate the technology into a variable-speed permanent magnet motor that weighs less than 12 lbs.
Previously, the technology was only through the HET to large-scale manufacturers who ordered in high quantities. Linear Labs, on Tuesday, announced its new motor will be available for any individual interested in using the technology.
The new HET MM17555 motor, aptly named The Honey Badger, can produce two to five times the torque of any equivalently sized motor and functions as normal even when fully submerged in water – the world’s first unsealed motor with the ability to do so.
To offer the new motor, Linear Labs has started an online crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Interested businesses or individuals can support the project and buy the motor.
“Seeing demand from entrepreneurs as well as ‘maker’ hobbyists looking to experiment with home projects, we’ve decided to support these communities and encourage their innovation by offering a version of our HET motor to anyone who wants one, whether they order a single motor for a hobby project or twenty motors for a new startup working on e-scooter prototypes,” said Brad Hunstable, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer.
Single motors are available at a price point of $695, with estimated delivery in December 2020.
The Kickstarter campaign currently has a funding threshold of $30,000 and will only be open for one month.
Linear Labs was founded in 2014. Its patented design idea was the brainchild of Brad Hunstable’s father Fred Hunstable, the company co-founder and a career electrical engineer.
The motor system runs like a DC motor and can utilize both standard and advanced cooling systems.
A unique stator design allows The Honey Badger to operate with multiple shorted coils, the only electric motor that can do, according to Linear Labs.
The company plans to soon equip the Honey Badger with data collection and AI-enabled controller ability. It will allow easier integration and allow factories to better control their operation adaptation, the company said.
“At Linear Labs, we’ve always been passionate about rewarding those who push the limits of ingenuity,” Brad Hunstable said, “and we see this as a way to pay back the next generation of inventors.”
Earlier this year, Linear Labs had announced its expansion with a new manufacturing plant in Fort Worth’s AllianeTexas area. The new facility is anticipated to create more than 3,000 high-tech jobs.
