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Supplied by Schaeffler, the custom motor will also regulate the speed of the camera in the Gran Telescopio de Canarias (GTC) on La Palma in the Canary Islands – vital to capturing clear long exposure images of the night’s sky as the Earth rotates.
Positioned on the 2,500m Roque de los Muchachos ridge, the GTC scans some of Europe’s darkest and clearest skies. With 36 reflectors, a diameter of 10.4m and weighing 300 tonnes, it is one of the world’s largest reflecting telescopes. Opened in 2009 at a cost of €80m, it has already spotted more than 2,000 planets and discovered distant galaxies.
The GTC scans some of Europe’s darkest and clearest skies (Credit: Shutterstock)
Despite its huge size, the telescope needs to move with millimetre precision. Schaeffler Iberia contributed specialist engineering expertise to the development of an instrument rotator by Spanish firm Idom, a high precision mechanism that controls the focal tracking and rapid positioning system that rotates the camera in perfect alignment with the heavens. Schaeffler’s special drive solution had to ensure the system’s ability to precisely position the camera and regulate its speed, but also had to feature a compact, lightweight instrument rotator.
The company developed a segmented, slotless RMF torque motor for the drive of the instrument rotator. The direct drive from Schaeffler Industrial Drives is reportedly characterised by its highly dynamic yet very even motion, which is also very energy efficient. The special motor, which is more than 2m in diameter, was developed and built based on a proven drive concept from machine tools for grinding operations.
The segmented design of the motor reportedly reduced the costs of transportation and mounting. Its relatively compact design simplified the installation process and could help optimise the overall system’s performance and maintenance. Affected segments, rather than the entire motor, can be replaced when servicing is required.
“With our unconventional drive solution, we have successfully created a special application that will allow mankind to accurately explore space and thus support ground-breaking international research,” said Albert Monera-Llorca, president of the industrial division for Schaeffler Spain and Southern Europe. “At the same time, our product provides a convincing level of added value for the customer when it comes to the performance, energy consumption and future maintenance of the system.”
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