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New Scale Technologies and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Announce Joint
Development Agreement for Mini Cryo Motors
Space Act Agreement focuses on qualification of New Scale’s Squiggle™ motors
at 4 degrees Kelvin for spacecraft and commercial applications
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December 2, 2004 - Victor, NY - New Scale Technologies (Victor, NY) and
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD) have signed a joint
development agreement to evaluate New Scale’s patent-pending SQUIGGLE
motors at 4 kelvins.
The objectives are to qualify SQUIGGLE
ceramic motors for use by NASA in future spacecraft missions, and to
validate SQUIGGLE technology for use in commercial cryogenic
applications.
“NASA has extensive cryogenic testing capabilities and experience and needs cold-qualified actuators for
future space telescope missions,” said Dr. Peter Shirron, a senior researcher in the Cryogenics and Fluids
Group at NASA Goddard. NASA’s cryogenic instruments require millimeters of stroke, nanometer precision and
several Newtons of force while generating negligible vibration and heating. Potential NASA applications
include adaptive optics in large aperture telescopes and heat switches in cryogenic cooling systems.
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Linear cryogenic SQUIGGLE motor
- Ultrasonic lead screw
- Piezoelectric ceramic material creates ultrasonic vibrations
- The nut vibrates and the screw rotates
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New Scale Technologies has already demonstrated a cryogenic SQUIGGLE motor that operates from room temperature to 100
kelvins. The tiny SQUIGGLE motor is an ultrasonic piezoelectric actuator that uses vibrations in a threaded
bushing to directly rotate a mating screw. Nanometer resolution over many millimeters of travel has been demonstrated.
(See how they work for more information on the SQUIGGLE motor operating principle.)
NASA and New Scale will work together to test and improve the cryogenic SQUIGGLE motor at temperatures as low as 4
kelvins. New Scale will provide the SQUIGGLE motors and NASA will complete the testing at their Cryogenic Research
and Integration Test Facility. The team will work together to identify and demonstrate motor improvements and publish
the test results.
“We are pleased to be working with NASA team lead by Dr. Shirron, and have our ceramic motor tested in the excellent
cryogenic laboratory at Goddard Space Flight Center,” said David Henderson, President and Founder of New Scale
Technologies. “Our goal is to show how the unique capabilities of our SQUIGGLE motor can improve future NASA spacecraft,
and to demonstrate a new positioning solution for commercial cryogenic markets.”
Potential commercial markets for cryogenic SQUIGGLE motors include:
- Cryogenic imaging systems for remote sensing and security surveillance.
- Basic materials research in cryostats.
- Microelectronic inspection and testing using cooled ultra-sensitive photon detectors.
About New Scale Technologies
New Scale Technologies makes miniature ceramic motors that enable our
customers to create smaller products. Our
patent-pending motors are bigger than MEMS devices but smaller than conventional motors. We generate precise
movement using ultrasonic vibrations which makes our products powerful, simple, inexpensive to produce and
compatible with extreme environments. Our
SQUIGGLE motor uses piezoelectric actuators to vibrate a nut and directly
rotate a mating screw in a tiny assembly with an order of magnitude fewer parts than conventional motors.
About NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
The mission of the Goddard Space Flight Center is to expand knowledge of the Earth and its environment, the
solar system, and the universe through observations from space. For more information visit
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html.
For more information please contact:
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New Scale Technologies
Fred Haas
New Scale Technologies, Inc.
Victor, NY 14564
585-924-4450
FHaas@newscaletech.com
www.newscaletech.com
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NASA Goddard
Dr. Peter Shirron
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771
(301) 286-7327
Peter.Shirron@nasa.gov
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