With the improvement of global industrial automation, intelligence and people's living standards, motors will be more and more widely used in the fields of automobiles, household appliances, electronic audio and video, information processing equipment, and industrial automation. According to statistics, the average number of motors owned by each family in developed countries is 80 to 130, while the average number of motors owned by a large urban family in my country is between 20 and 40, which is still far below the average level of developed countries. Therefore, , the domestic motor industry still has a lot of room for development. Compared with the motor's history of more than 200 years, the BLDC motor is actually relatively young, with a history of more than 50 years since its development. However, with the development of semiconductor technology and the popularization of MCU and drive components, the overall cost of BLDC motors has been greatly reduced. Therefore, BLDC motors have been developed in recent years, and their overall growth rate is also higher than that of motors. Figure 1: BLDC motor market size forecast. It is estimated that the compound annual growth rate of BLDC motors will be around 6.5% in the next few years. According to statistics, the market size of BLDC in 2019 is about 16.3 billion US dollars, and it is expected to reach about 22.44 billion US dollars by 2024. Given the size of the market, what are the specific applications? Recently, at the 3rd 2020 Brushless DC Motor Control Technology Symposium held by <Electronic Enthusiast Network>, its industry analyst Cheng Wenzhi shared the "Market Analysis of Ten Potential Applications of BLDC Motors" report. In his view, the application markets with relatively large usage of BLDC motors in the future mainly include automobiles, 5G, drones/underwater robots, electric bicycles/electric vehicles, industrial robots, fans, compressors, power tools, pumps and personal health care, etc. Automotive Application Market With the rise of new energy vehicles, the penetration of intelligent driving, and the pilot application of the Internet of Vehicles, the trend of automotive electronics is becoming more and more obvious. In future cars, in addition to drive motors, electric power steering systems, electronic suspension systems, car stability control systems, car cruise control systems, ABS, body systems (windows, door locks, seats, rearview mirrors, wipers, Sunroofs, etc.) will use a lot of motors. Generally speaking, economical fuel vehicles will be equipped with about 10 motors, ordinary cars will be equipped with 20 to 30 motors, and luxury cars will be equipped with 60 to 70 or even hundreds of motors, while new energy vehicles generally have Between 130 and 200 motors are required. Figure 2: Number of electric motors used in a car. As people pay more and more attention to the performance of automobiles, especially the requirements for automobile comfort, safety, fuel economy, and environmental protection, the electronic control devices and electrical equipment on automobiles increase accordingly. The use of electric devices has increased the number of equipment for automotive motors. New energy vehicles have been the development trend in recent years, and now global policies are simultaneously promoting the development of new energy vehicles. Developed countries such as Europe and the United States are actively deploying the new energy vehicle market, promoting the development of new energy vehicles through various subsidy policies and bills, and promoting the transformation of traditional fuel vehicles to electric vehicles. After July 2019 in China, due to the sharp decline in subsidies, the growth rate has declined. However, with the continuous launch of new energy models by major car companies in 2020, especially the launch of TESLA Model3 and Volkswagen ID.3, the industry It is expected to shift from subsidy-driven to demand-driven and enter the second period of rapid growth. 5G 2020 is a critical year for China's 5G development. Although affected by the epidemic, 5G construction lagged in the first quarter, but China Mobile stated that it will strive to achieve the goal of 300,000 5G base stations by the end of 2020. China Telecom will also cooperate with China China Unicom strives to complete the construction of 250,000 new 5G base stations in the third quarter to recover from the impact of the epidemic. Including the 50,000 base stations that China Radio and Television plans to build, China will build 600,000 base stations this year. Figure 3: The number of 5G base stations planned by the four major operators in 2020. In the 5G base station, there are many places that need to use the motor, the first is the base station antenna. At present, the control motor products with gearbox components for 5G base station antenna applications include stepper motors and brushless motors. Each electronically adjustable antenna is equipped with a control motor with a gearbox. Under normal circumstances, ordinary communication base stations need to be equipped with about 3 antennas, and 4G base stations need to be equipped with 4 to 6 antennas. The number of 5G base stations and the number of antennas will further increase. In addition to the base station antenna, the cooling system in the base station also needs to use motor products. Such as cooling fans, air conditioning compressors and so on. Drones/Underwater Drones Drones have been around for a few years, but not all drones use brushless motors. Now many drones are switching to brushless motors to obtain a lighter body and longer battery life. According to the Droneii report, in 2018, the global drone market size was US$14.1 billion, and it is expected that by 2024, the global drone market size will reach US$43.1 billion, with the fastest growth in Asia and North America. CAGR of 20.5 According to the Civil Aviation Administration's "Civil UAV Mission Registration Information System", as of the end of 2018, a total of 285,000 UAVs were registered in China. By the end of 2019, there were more than 392,000 registered UAVs and 1.25 million UAV commercial flights Hour. Especially during the epidemic at the beginning of this year, drones played a very important role. For example, it shuttled between hospitals and CDCs to implement automatic transfer of emergency medicines and specimens for epidemic prevention and control; hovered on highways, replacing manual aerial work. Command work; incarnation of disinfection artifacts, complete epidemic prevention and disinfection work in vast rural areas and even urban areas across the country; incarnation of small publicity experts, propaganda and persuasion from the air, let people stay at home, etc. Also officially due to the impact of the epidemic, contactless delivery has once again been pushed to the forefront. Domestically, the Civil Aviation Administration launched a pilot project of drone logistics and distribution services last year. Due to the impact of the epidemic, the speed of domestic advancement should be accelerated; abroad, the logistics giant UPS and the German drone manufacturer Wingcopter have joined forces to bring a new type of vertical take-off and landing drone into the freight industry to deliver packages. There is also an underwater drone that we are not familiar with, and it has also begun to increase slowly. I remember an underwater drone company I interviewed in 2017. At that time, they were just in mass production, and they only shipped a few hundred units through crowdfunding. Now they have shipped tens of thousands of units a year. Electric treadmill/electric car The electric treadmill not only retains the original riding experience, but also provides intelligent auxiliary power. It is a means of transportation between bicycles and traditional electric vehicles. Electric bicycles mainly provide corresponding power assistance through sensors according to riding signals, reducing the rider's effort and making riding easier for users. Compared with bicycles, electric treadmills have added motors, batteries, sensors, controllers, instruments, etc., making the riding experience richer. Compared with traditional electric bicycles, electric bicycles do not control the speed of the bicycle by turning the grip of the hand, but capture the riding signal through the sensor, and then understand the riding intention of the rider, and provide corresponding power assistance, making the riding more intelligent . Figure 4: Comparison of bicycles, electric treadmills and traditional electric vehicles. The price of domestic electric bicycles ranges from 2,000 to 10,000 yuan. Hub motor electric treadmills in Europe are priced between 500 and 1700 euros, and mid motor electric treadmills are priced between 2300 and 3300 euros. Electric treadmills are much more expensive than bicycles and electric cars. The motor is the core component of the electrical system of an electric treadmill. Since the miniaturization, light weight, operating efficiency and appearance reliability of the motor directly determine the performance of the electric treadmill, motor companies generally need to customize the development of the motor according to the needs of the electric treadmill. Motors account for 10% to 30% of the cost of electric treadmills. There is a strong demand for electric treadmills in Europe. According to statistics from the European Bicycle Industry Association, from 2006 to 2018, the sales of electric bicycles in the European market increased from 98,000 to 2.5 million. The average annual compound growth rate reached 31%. The Japanese market is also growing steadily. Japan is the first country to develop, produce and sell electric treadmills. It successfully developed the first generation of electric treadmills in the 1980s. However, due to the hilly terrain in Japan, rough roads, and serious aging, electric treadmills have become Necessary choice. The domestic market is in its infancy. There is considerable room for future growth. At present, companies such as Mobike, Xiaomi, Hello Travel, Double Speed Travel, and Yong Yong have begun to try to promote electric bicycles in China. Industrial robot Industrial robots are mainly an alternative market in China, and its space is quite broad. Although China is the world's largest industrial robot application market, in the field of industrial robots, the world's well-known manufacturers are mainly concentrated in developed countries represented by the United States, Japan, and Germany, such as ABB in Sweden, Fanuc in Japan, and Yaskawa Electric. And the four major families represented by the German KUKA. Figure 5: Sales volume of industrial robots. (Data source: International Federation of Robotics) According to the data from the International Federation of Robotics, the global sales volume of industrial robots in 2018 was 422,000 sets, of which 154,000 sets were sold in China, accounting for 36.5%. In addition, according to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, it can be seen that the output of industrial robots in China is also gradually increasing, from about 33,000 sets in 2015 to 187,000 sets in 2018. The growth rate is rapid. Not only that, as the government has continuously introduced industrial support in recent years, domestic enterprises have continued to break through, and the localization rate of domestic industrial robots has continued to increase. In the first half of 2018, the proportion of domestic robot sales rose from 19.42% in 2015 to 28.48%. At the same time, the overall sales of industrial robots in my country also maintained growth. fan Fans include: fans, range hoods, hair dryers, air curtain machines, HVAC fans, etc. The main downstream manufacturers include Midea, Airmate, Gree, Pioneer, Vantage, Boss and so on. From the perspective of household fans, this is a very large market. The output of domestic fans in China is very large. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2018, the output of domestic fans in my country was 180 million units. In 2017, there was no December. Data, but the 11-month data is 160 million units, 160 million units in 2016, and it is estimated that there will be about 190 million units in 2019. Figure 6: Production of household fans in China. (Data source: National Bureau of Statistics) At present, domestic mainstream small home appliance manufacturers, such as Midea, Pioneer, Nicai, Airmate, etc., basically have products using brushless motors on the market. Among them, Emmett has the largest quantity, and Xiaomi has the lowest cost. With the entry of some cross-border manufacturers such as Xiaomi, the conversion rate of brushless motors in the field of household fans has begun to accelerate. Now, in the field of household fans, domestic brushless motor manufacturers already have a place. In addition to household fans, there are also equipment cooling fans. In fact, equipment cooling fans began to switch to brushless motors many years ago. There is a benchmark company in this field, that is ebm-papst (EBM), whose fan and motor products are widely used in many industries such as ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration, home appliances, heating and automobiles. At present, many domestic companies are making brushless cooling fans similar to EBM, and have seized many EBM markets. Especially with the rise of domestic charging piles, domestic manufacturers should have great opportunities. Now the country has included charging piles in the "new infrastructure" project, and there should be greater development this year. There are also freezer cooling fans. Due to the influence of industry standards and national energy efficiency standards, freezer cooling fans have begun to switch to BLDC motors, and the conversion speed is relatively fast, and the number of products is relatively large. It is estimated that before 2022, 60% of freezer cooling machines will be replaced with variable frequency motors. At present, the domestic supporting manufacturers of freezer coolers are mainly concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions. In terms of fans, there are range hoods, which are an important part of kitchen appliances. However, due to cost reasons, the brushless conversion rate of range hoods is not high. The current frequency conversion solution is about 150 yuan, but the non-brushless motor solution can basically be done within 100 yuan, and the low-cost one only costs about 30 yuan. There are also many new fans and air purifiers that are also made with brushless motor solutions. At present, the products on the market generally use Nedic external rotor motors for small ones, and EBM fans for large air purifiers. In addition, there is an air circulation fan that has started to be produced in the past two years. The current value is quite high. Generally, the finished product costs seven to eight hundred, and there are also two or three thousand more expensive ones. compressor Because the speed of the refrigerator compressor determines the temperature inside the refrigerator, and the speed of the inverter refrigerator compressor can be changed according to the temperature, so that the refrigerator can be adjusted according to the current temperature situation, so that the temperature inside the refrigerator can be better kept constant . In this way, the preservation effect of food will be better. Most inverter refrigerator compressors use BLDC motors, so they work with higher efficiency, lower noise, and longer service life. Figure 7: Sales of refrigerators and inverter refrigerators in China. (Data source: National Bureau of Statistics) This field used to be dominated by products from Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese manufacturers, but after 2010, domestic manufacturers started quickly. It is said that there is a manufacturer in Shanghai whose annual shipments are close to 30 million units. With the progress of domestic semiconductor manufacturers, whether it is the main control MCU manufacturer, the pre-driver Gate Driver, or the power MOSFET, domestic manufacturers can basically provide them. There is also the air conditioner compressor. At present, the frequency conversion air conditioner has basically been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the frequency conversion of air conditioners has become the general trend. The output of domestic air conditioners is also quite large. According to the statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics, the output of motors for air conditioners in 2018 was 360 million units, and the output of BLDC motors for air conditioners was about 96 million units. Moreover, the production of BLDC motors for air conditioners basically increases every year. electrical tools Power tools are one of the most widely used hardware and electrical products. Because of its light structure, easy to carry and use, high production efficiency, low energy consumption, etc., it is widely used in drilling, cutting, grinding and other processing in various application industries such as construction, decoration, wood processing, metal processing, and other manufacturing industries. link. With the continuous development of technology and the gradual acceptance of the concept of DIY, the application range of electric tools is also expanding. Many traditional manual tool operations are more and more replaced by electric tools, and electric tools are also expanding from industrial applications. into family life. The demand for power tools is increasing year by year. The brushless use of electric tools actually started very early. In 2010, some foreign brands launched electric tools with brushless motors. With the maturity of lithium battery technology, the price is becoming more and more affordable, and the magnitude of handheld tools is increasing year by year, and now it can be evenly compared with plug-in tools. According to statistics, domestic electric wrenches have basically achieved brushless, and electric drills, high-voltage types, and garden tools have not yet been completely brushless, but they are also in the process of conversion. This is mainly due to the energy saving and high efficiency of brushless motors, allowing handheld power tools to run for longer periods of time. Now many international manufacturers and domestic manufacturers have invested a lot of resources in product development, such as Bosch, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, Makita and so on. At present, the development of electric tools in China is also very rapid, especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, where many electric tool manufacturers are concentrated. In recent years, the cost of brushless motor control solutions in Jiangsu and Zhejiang has dropped rapidly, and many manufacturers have launched a price war. It is said that a brushless motor control solution for an electric tool is only about 6 or 7 yuan, and some even only need 4 or so. 5 yuan. pump Water pumps are a relatively traditional industry with a wide variety of solutions. Even for the driver boards with the same power, there are many kinds on the market at present, and the price ranges from less than two yuan to forty or fifty yuan. In the application of water pumps, three-phase asynchronous motors are mainly used for medium and large power, and AC bipolar pumps are mainly used for small and micro water pumps. Now the northern heating renovation is a good opportunity for the technological innovation of pump solutions. From a technical point of view, brushless motors are more suitable for application in the field of pumps, and their volume, power density, and even cost have certain advantages. personal health care In terms of personal health care, there are two representative products, one is Dyson's online celebrity product hair dryer, and the other is the fascia gun. Since Dyson launched the hair dryer products with high-speed digital motors, it has brought fire to the entire hair dryer market. According to the introduction of Qian Zhicun from Jingfeng Mingyuan, the current domestic hair dryer solutions mainly have three directions: one is based on Dyson as a benchmark, using ultra-high-speed brushless motors, the speed is generally about 100,000 rpm, and the highest The second is the U motor replacement scheme, the speed is similar to the U motor, and its advantages are light weight and high wind pressure; the third is the outer rotor high-voltage scheme, and its motor is mainly a copy of Nedic's scheme. At present, domestic imitation products are not simply copied from before, but have basically achieved patent evasion and made certain innovations. The shipments of fascia guns have exploded in recent years. It is said that gym coaches and sports enthusiasts are now equipped with fascia guns. The fascia gun uses the mechanical principle of vibration, and transmits the vibration to the deep fascia muscles through the fascia gun, so as to relax the fascia and reduce muscle tension. Some people regard the fascia gun as an artifact for relaxation after exercise. But now the water of fascia gun is also very deep. Although the appearance looks similar, the price ranges from more than 100 yuan to more than 3000 yuan. Now the market price of the BLDC motor control driver board used in the fascia gun has dropped to 8.x yuan, and even a control driver board of about 6 yuan has appeared. The price of fascia guns dropped rapidly. It is said that there was an electric motor manufacturer that was about to close down, but it was brought back to life immediately with the help of a fascia gun. And it was pretty moist. Of course, in addition to these two products, there is also a trend of switching to brushless motors in products such as shavers for boys and beauty instruments for girls. epilogue In general, BLDC motors are still in their infancy, and applications are flourishing now. In addition to the ones I mentioned here, there are many, such as service robots, AGV, sweeping robots, wall breaking machines, cooking machines, dishwashers, etc. They all have their presence. In fact, there are many places where motors are used in our lives. , there are still many applications waiting for us to explore in the future.
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