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Actuat Inc.

Actuat · DM1

DM1

A brushless outrunner motor for multirotor drones and aerial robotics.

In development

Not for sale. No unit has been built or tested.

Brushless outrunner · Exploded assemblySchematic — not to scale
Exploded cross-section of a brushless outrunner: mounting base, stator, windings, shaft, bearings, magnets, rotor bell, retaining hardware, motor wires, and propeller interface. The drawing shows how the parts relate, not their dimensions — none of which are fixed.
Part descriptions
Mounting base
Carries thrust into the arm and conducts heat out of the stator. The bolt pattern is what airframe designers build around.
Stator
Insulated electrical-steel laminations carrying the windings. Thinner laminations cost more to stamp and lose less to iron.
Windings
Enamelled copper on the stator teeth. Gauge and turn count set both the motor constant and most of the loss.
Shaft
In an outrunner the shaft rotates with the bell. Straightness and the fit at the bell interface directly affect runout, which shows up as vibration at the propeller.
Bearings
A preloaded pair carrying propeller thrust and any imbalance. Sets acoustic signature and service life.
Permanent magnets
Sintered segments bonded inside the bell in alternating polarity. Grade is chosen for temperature coefficient, not peak strength.
Rotor bell
Houses the magnets and closes the magnetic circuit. Its concentricity sets air-gap consistency.
Retaining hardware
Circlip or threaded retention, thread-locking compound, and shaft grub screws. Unglamorous, and the usual cause of a motor that comes apart in flight.
Motor wires
Three leads with strain relief at the base. A common failure point on production motors.
Propeller interface
Threaded shaft or bolt pattern on the bell face. Concentricity and squareness here determine how much of the propeller's imbalance the bearings have to absorb.

Product

What it is.

Actuat's first in-house motor programme, used to develop the electromagnetic, mechanical, controls, testing, and manufacturing capability behind future motion hardware.

Specifications

Design targets, marked as such.

Every figure carries a confidence label. Nothing reads “measured”, because the test bench does not exist yet.

Stator size
TBDTBD
KV
TBDTBD
Supported voltage
4S – 6S Li-ion / LiPoTGT
Maximum thrust
TBDTBD
Peak efficiency
TBDTBD
Weight
TBDTBD
Full specification table20
  • ConfirmedA locked architectural decision
  • MeasuredFrom hardware, with stated conditions
  • SimulatedModel output, not a specification
  • EstimatedCalculated, not measured
  • Manufacturer publishedThird-party data, not independently verified
  • Design targetEngineered toward
  • Under evaluationOptions still open
  • TBDNot yet defined

Configuration

Architectural decisions. These are choices rather than measurements.

Motor type
Brushless outrunner, three-phase
Confirmed

Topology is settled. Everything downstream of it is not.

Stator size
TBD
TBD

Quoted as stator diameter × stack height once the packaging and thrust targets are reconciled.

Pole / slot combination
12N14P and 9N12P
Under evaluation

Both are being evaluated for cogging, winding practicality, and iron loss.

Winding configuration
TBD
TBD

Turn count, strand count, and termination follow from the KV target and slot geometry.

KV
TBD
TBD

A derived property of turns and magnetic design. Will be measured, not specified in isolation.

Electrical

Supported voltage
4S – 6S Li-ion / LiPo
Design target

Initial target range. Bounds achievable RPM for a given KV.

Maximum current
TBD
TBD

Bounded by winding thermal limit under stated airflow. Requires measurement.

Peak power
TBD
TBD

Peak figures are meaningless without a stated duration.

Continuous power
TBD
TBD

A thermal result at equilibrium, in stated airflow — not a magnetic limit.

Phase resistance
TBD
TBD

Candidate end-of-line test parameter for winding consistency.

Performance

Every figure in this group is a property of a motor–propeller–voltage–controller combination. None can be published without its full test conditions.

Maximum thrust
TBD
TBD

Will be published per propeller and per cell count, never as a single number.

Peak efficiency
TBD
TBD

Thrust per watt of electrical input, at the throttle setting where it peaks — not at full throttle.

Recommended propellers
TBD
TBD

Determined by thermal and efficiency testing across candidate propellers.

ESC recommendation
TBD
TBD

Follows from measured current draw with margin, and from compatibility testing.

Mechanical

Outer dimensions
TBD
TBD
Weight
TBD
TBD

Mass budget allocated per subassembly; no total committed.

Shaft diameter
TBD
TBD
Bearing configuration
Preloaded pair
Design target

Sized for axial thrust and propeller-induced radial load. Specific bearings not selected.

Mounting pattern
TBD
TBD

Will follow a common airframe standard where possible, then be held.

Wire specification
TBD
TBD

Gauge follows from continuous current; connector choice from airframe convention.

Applications

Where it fits.

  • High-performance FPV

    Throttle response and thermal headroom under abuse.

  • Autonomous drones

    Efficiency at the hover point sets endurance.

  • Aerial robotics

    Platforms that manipulate, carry, or inspect.

  • Research platforms

    Low-level control access and honest telemetry.

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