ZF gearhead used to open door in luxury multimedia pod

The Oculas 2.0 is a distinctive and innovative multimedia product that provides the user with a completely immersive environment. It is suitable for both entertainment purposes and business applications.

ZF supplied SWG gearheads to Mitsubishi Electric UK for the door operating system because of the choice of backlash options, which significantly reduced purchase costs and offered additional safety with anti-backdriving operation.

Everything about Lee McCormack's innovative Oculas 2.0 needs to work as stylishly and efficiently as possible, as it is designed for both 'high net-worth' individuals as well as business applications. The futuristic pod is claimed to provide the most advanced immersive branding, conferencing, purchasing, downloading, gaming, music, film, simulation and general entertainment experience available. A single upward-swinging gull-wing door is one of the main features of the Oculas 2.0, and its smooth operation is 'essential in maintaining customer satisfaction', according to the designer.

Screwjack problems

The McLaren engineering team was responsible for bringing the project to fruition, but faced initial teething problems with the screwjack-based door control system. McCormack says: "Opening and closing operations were functional but, when the 16kg door was lowered, the screwjacks caused a juddering motion that was not ideal, so Mitsubishi Electric UK was asked to specify a more effective solution."

Ideally the door operating system would be based on a lightweight, high-ratio gearbox of the kind used in precision automation and packaging systems; however, these gearheads have traditionally been prohibitively costly for use in even luxury consumer applications. Dave Morgan, Technical Sales Engineer at ZF Great Britain, comments: "It was at this point in the design process that Mitsubishi Electric approached us with a view to specifying our SWG range of gearheads, which offer machine builders the unique choice of backlash levels of

SWG90 units (with a 90:1 ratio) provide exceptionally smooth door motion; their precision high gearing offers the added bonus of eliminating backdriving, thereby ensuring that, in the event of power or system failure, the door will not drop down, trapping or injuring the user. The gearhead design performs well under high radial loads, a feature that has made the units popular with handling systems and machine designers and, ultimately, ensures the immediate stopping of the door, despite the high moment of inertia caused by the offset door pivot.

Easy to incorporate

SWG gearheads are designed for maximum mounting flexibility, as evidenced by the fact that the standard flanged model attaches directly to the Mitsubishi electric motor. The hollow shaft and shrink disc option also allow easy fitment to the output, which, in this case, was the Oculas 2.0 door spindle. In addition, sealed-for-life lubrication ensures long, maintenance-free operation and enables the gearboxes to be mounted at 45 degrees in the main body of the pod.

The lightweight aluminium/magnesium body of the gearhead helps to reduce the final weight of the Oculas design, and a computer-optimised wormwheel contact pattern offers exceptionally quiet performance of