Orhont Magnetics Keeps Motors Rolling With Simulation

An early-stage startup develops an innovative gapless rolling electric motor using multiphysics simulation.

Ask someone about Leonardo da Vinci and you’ll probably hear about the “Mona Lisa,” “The Last Supper,” or other great works of art. Ask an engineer, and you might be surprised. At least, if you ask Alex Dobjanski of Orhont Magnetics, a Pittsburgh startup now based in Ohio that provides fabrication services for electric machine prototypes, you might be surprised. He considers the renowned “Renaissance man” to be his biggest engineering inspiration for da Vinci’s influence on ball bearing design and friction reduction.

With years of experience teaching engineering globally, Dobjanski launched Orhont to help students, academia, and small businesses build cost-effective prototypes. But after successfully helping others validate their ideas, he focused on his own. Inspired by da Vinci, Dobjanski imagined a new motor concept that eliminates ball bearings yet maintains their function. This led to the startup’s signature technology, the gapless rolling electric motor.

To refine his design and prototype, Dobjanski uses multiphysics simulation tools from Ansys, part of Synopsys, with access to the software through the Ansys Startup Program and support from the SimuTech Group, an Ansys Apex Channel Partner. Orhont gains additional support from funding awarded by the Department of the Navy’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.

With the combined support, Dobjanski integrates Ansys electromagnetic (EM) and mechanical simulation to ensure the motor’s efficiency, power, and performance while reducing operational time and costs.

Revolutionize Motor Design

To multiply torque in motor design, you typically need to attach heavy gearboxes, which make the system bulky and costly. Dobjanski says his motor achieves this within one device that acts as a motor and gearbox hybrid.

“We tried to combine everything in one space, in one geometry, and make it as small as possible,” he says. “We combined two things together and eliminated the problem of weight, extra dimensions, and so on. This is how our motor works. It magnetically drives the planetary gears of the gearbox, so you don’t need actual mechanical gears in the motor, but you have the effect of (torque) multiplication.”

By eliminating ball bearings and gearboxes, Orhont’s gapless rolling motor reduces friction and related wear and tear. It earned its namesake from its ability to use magnetic rollers to remove the usual air gap between the stator and rotor. In this design, the rotor can roll directly on the stator’s surface without causing damage by using static friction instead of dynamic friction. Dobjanski says this results in higher durability, less required maintenance, and quieter operation. In connection, its lightweight, compact design supports energy efficiency.

Simulate Success

Orhont’s connection with the Ansys Startup Program is somewhat kismet. While pursuing his Ph.D. in electrical engineering, Dobjanski taught a fellow student how to use Ansys software. She applied it to her dissertation and later worked for Ansys. Wanting to expand Orhont’s simulation integration, Dobjanski contacted her to purchase software. She connected him to SimuTech, who helped Orhont join the Ansys Startup Program and gain access to tools like the Ansys Maxwell advanced EM field solver and Ansys Mechanical structural finite element analysis (FEA) software.

“We can build a pretty accurate prototype from the first shot using Ansys simulations,” he says. “Before using Ansys software, I remember in the old days we would do analytical calculations, and there are so many equations, you would get lost and something is missed. Then you build the prototype and have to go back because something’s not working.”

In addition, virtual testing and prototyping saves the startup time and costs.

“Ansys tools give me credibility,” he says. “I've been using Ansys software for maybe 15 years, and I know what it is, and I know how to handle it. So, Ansys simulation saves us a lot of material cost for sure — and time, which is most important.”

Over the next two years, Orhont will continue to refine its prototype during Phase II of the Navy’s SBIR program, aiming for Phase III to bring the technology to government or private use.

Expand Your Motor Designs Today

Ansys is dedicated to advancing industrial processes and equipment with innovative solutions. To learn how Ansys can support your early-to-mid-stage business, visit the Ansys Startup Program.