Achieving Quiet, Reliable Motion in Surgical Applications with ClearPath Servos

ATEC Spine is a global medical technology company dedicated to improving patient outcomes in spinal surgery through innovative implants and surgical technologies. For their engineering teams, developing equipment for the operating room involves strict requirements: systems must be precise, reliable, and unobtrusive to the surgical staff.

Steve Gorski, Senior Project Engineer at ATEC Spine, led the development of a new linear motion system utilizing slides made from a major manufacturer. The project faced two primary hurdles: managing variable friction caused by mechanical tolerances and ensuring the machine operated quietly enough for a surgical environment.

During the build phase, Steve’s team discovered that identical mechanical builds exhibited different friction characteristics. In an open-loop system, these unexpected load variations could cause stalling or positioning errors.

“I think [friction variance] is actually just a variance within manufacturing... I wouldn't have thought there would be that much difference in friction between two different slides,” explains Steve.

To address this, ATEC Spine utilized Teknic’s ClearPath-SD (SDSK) integrated servos. Unlike stepper motors, ClearPath servos operate with closed-loop and adaptive control, and feature intelligent autotuning algorithms. This allowed the engineers to tune the motors to compensate for mechanical variations without losing steps or degrading performance.

Steve adds, “The software oscilloscope has been great for diagnostics. That's definitely a key feature for us. Having everything in one program along with autotuning has been nice.”

While the machines are used on patients, the comfort and focus of the surgical team (the machine’s users) are paramount. Traditional stepper motors often produce distracting audible resonance, which is undesirable in a medical setting.

By utilizing ClearPath servo systems, ATEC Spine achieved a significant reduction in operating noise compared to stepper technologies.

Despite the advanced closed-loop performance, Steve found the transition to Teknic servos straightforward. The ClearPath-SD series is designed to follow step and direction command signals, making it an easy upgrade for designs that historically used steppers.

“They're a lot easier than past motors I've used,” says Steve. “I like how they are a replacement for steppers. The SDSK has been a nice model to use.”

The combination of silent operation and software-defined performance has solidified the decision for future builds. “They’re a solid component for the system… we like them a lot,” Steve concludes.