A Magnetostrictive Water Pump for Use in Extra-Vehicular Activity

SatCon Technology Corporation

Cambridge, MA

Development of an extended-range magnetostrictive inchworm motor with a laminated terfenol-D moving element sandwiched between two double-layered three-phase stators.

• Achieved maximum speed of 12 mm/s, 150-N force capacity,and 25-mm travel range.
• Demonstrated precision motion control capacity or robotic applications with closed-loop control.
• Increased water pumps capabilities, while decreasing both mass and power needs.
• Increased reliability through reduction in movable parts and component materials.
• Received NASA contracts valued at over a million dollars to further specialize the pump for NASA purposes.
• The firm has announced that it’s Semiconductor Products business unit will introduce a new high speed, 5.7 gigahertz, RF Power Amplifier for Wireless LAN applications at the Wireless Systems Design Conference and Expo being held from February 26th to the 28th in San Jose, California.

• The firm has announced that Brown Simpson Partners I, Ltd. has exercised a warrant to purchase 675,000 shares of SatCon’s common stock. The aggregate gross proceeds to SatCon, as a result of the warrant exercise, were approximately $5.8 million. In connection with the warrant exercise, Brown Simpson received a new warrant to purchase 438,750 shares of SatCon’s common stock at an exercise price of $16.70 per share.
• Revenue for the fiscal 2001 third quarter rose 22% to $10.6 million, compared with $8.7 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue for the nine months ended June 30, 2001 increased 52% to $31.7 million, compared with $20.8 million for the nine months ended June 30, 2000.
• On, February 21, 2002, SatCon Technology Corporation's announced that it’s Power Systems business Unit has received $1.5 million in orders for industrial automation and semiconductor equipment orders. The company views the orders as a signal that its industrial automation and semiconductor manufacturing equipment markets are beginning to turn around. The orders include approximately $1.0 million in MagLev systems, power supplies and servomotors for semiconductor equipment customers and approximately $550,000 for industrial automation components.
• On January 22, 2002 , SatCon Technology Corporation's announced that it has been awarded a $4.1 million contract from General Atomics to continue the development of its Integrated Power System (IPS). The contract phase, when added to the initial IPS phase, which began last February, brings the total value of this program to $7.0 million. Under this phase of the contract, SatCon will deliver 100kW and 300kW modular, electrical power converter and control assemblies to be tested as part of a full-scale demonstration program for the Navy’s "all-electric" ship.

• The high-force and moderate-speed capability of the magnetostrictive motor makes it well suited as a direct-drive replacement for geared down motors for NASA robotic applications.

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