Driven by the healthy office movement and the wellness industry, the smart furniture market, led by electric standing desks and adjustable beds, is growing rapidly. The core competitiveness of these products lies in the user experience, which places extremely specific and demanding requirements on the drive system: 1) Extreme Quietness: In a quiet home or office, any motor noise (gear meshing, motor humming) is amplified and becomes a major pain point. Industry standards typically require operational noise below 50dB. 2) Synchronized Smoothness: For desks or beds with multiple legs (dual- or multi-motor), it is essential to ensure high-precision synchronization under varying loads (e.g., an unevenly loaded desk) to prevent tilting and wobbling. 3) High Self-Locking Capability: Reliably locking at any height when stopped, supporting the load without slipping down. 4) Compact Structure: The drive unit must be cleverly integrated within the limited space of the furniture’s columns or frame.
AKT Product Solution
AKT provides specialized, NVH-optimized drive solutions for smart lifting systems. We strategically recommend the combination of low-noise Brushless DC Motors (BLDC) and precision Planetary Gearboxes to achieve a high-end user experience.
- Ultra-Quiet & Smooth Drive Solution:
Traditional PMDC (brushed) motors have inherent noise and lifespan bottlenecks due to brush friction and commutator sparking. Our low-noise BLDC motors, paired with BLDC drivers utilizing FOC (Field-Oriented Control) sinusoidal algorithms, eliminate commutation noise and electromagnetic hum at the source. Their operational smoothness far exceeds PMDC motors, easily controlling system noise below 45dB, with a lifespan reaching tens of thousands of hours. - High-Precision Multi-Axis Sync Solution:
“Desk tilting” is the biggest technical pain point. AKT’s intelligent driver and controller system is designed specifically for this. Using built-in algorithms or bus communication (like LIN/CAN), it monitors the speed and position (requires integrated encoders) of each BLDC motor in real-time, achieving high-precision speed synchronization between axes. Even with uneven desk loads, it guarantees absolutely smooth and synchronized lifting. - Transmission & Locking Solution:
While traditional worm gears offer self-locking, their efficiency is low (often <70%) and they are noisy. We recommend using high-efficiency planetary gearboxes (efficiency >90%). This allows the motor to achieve the same thrust with less power, saving energy. To address the non-locking nature of planetary gearboxes, our solutions are: 1) Integrate an electromagnetic brake on the motor’s back shaft for power-off locking; 2) Utilize the BLDC driver’s position-hold PID loop, applying a reverse locking torque when stopped to achieve an electronic lock.
Engineering & Customization Capabilities:
We provide highly integrated modules for smart furniture. Services include: customizing the non-standard shape of the BLDC motor and planetary gearbox to fit the customer’s column design; processing the planetary gearbox output shaft directly into a precision lead screw or integrating it; providing motors with integrated encoders and brakes; and offering a complete system package of “Motor + Gearbox + Driver + Controller”.
Typical Application Equipment Examples
- High-End Electric Standing Desks:
Dual- or quad-column desks demand perfect synchronization. Our dual-motor BLDC drive solution, using one main controller to coordinate two (or more) BLDC motors with planetary gearboxes, matches speeds in real-time. This ensures the desktop remains level even with several kilograms of load differential, providing a high-end, ultra-quiet office experience. - Smart Nursing / Adjustable Beds:
Smart beds require independent, quiet adjustment for multiple sections (back, legs). Our distributed drive modules, consisting of small BLDC motors and low-noise planetary gearboxes, are compact and easy to integrate into the bed frame. Users can adjust their position at night with almost no audible motor noise, ensuring undisturbed sleep. - Concealed TV / Projector Lifts:
These applications require extremely smooth starts and stops to prevent A/V equipment from shaking. Our BLDC driver, featuring S-curve acceleration/deceleration control, combined with the smooth transmission of our planetary gearbox, delivers a “soft-start, soft-stop” lifting experience.
Summary
AKT deeply integrates motion control technology with ergonomic design. We deliver more than just motors; we provide a complete, reliable, and quiet lifting drive system based on BLDC motors, precision planetary gearboxes, and intelligent synchronous drivers. Our engineering team collaborates closely with furniture designers to offer full customization of form factor, size, and interface, helping clients build more competitive high-end smart furniture products.