{"id":2433,"date":"2009-09-29T09:55:57","date_gmt":"2009-09-29T07:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ec-magazin.de\/?p=2433"},"modified":"2025-11-11T10:51:20","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T09:51:20","slug":"the-secret-of-the-turtle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mag.ebmpapst.com\/en\/industries\/medical\/the-secret-of-the-turtle_2433\/","title":{"rendered":"The secret of the turtle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The housing is what gave the Turtle Blower its nick\u00adname. The small black plastic case with the five screw bosses and the blower outlet are remi\u00adnis\u00adcent of a small turtle. The task that the apparent reptile fulfils is revealed by its product desig\u00adna\u00adtion: CPAP centrifugal blower ECI 30.20. The compact blower was devel\u00adoped for medical respi\u00adra\u00adtion aids. It supports patients suffering from irreg\u00adular breathing by ensuring that they have suffi\u00adcient air supply. As the device is used right next to the patient\u2019s bed, the little turtle has to be mainly capable of two things. Firstly, it has to be very quiet, and secondly it has to respond dynam\u00adi\u00adcally and posi\u00adtively to the patient\u2019s respi\u00adra\u00adtion require\u00adments. But it can do a lot more than just that.<\/p>\n

Staying power<\/h2>\n

Ten years ago, engi\u00adneers at ebm-papst in St. Georgen recog\u00adnised that their exper\u00adtise in air tech\u00adnology and drive engi\u00adneering was predes\u00adtined for use in devel\u00adoping blowers for helping sleep apnoea patients. The early devices were bulky and heavy. That changed in 2003 when the Swedish respi\u00adra\u00adtion device specialist Breas decided that it wanted to market a more user-friendly model, following the trend in medical tech\u00adnology of offering more compact devices that were not restricted to a specific point of use. Work started on the measuring rigs and in the devel\u00adop\u00adment labo\u00adra\u00adto\u00adries at St. Georgen: \u201cThe market for CPAP blowers was born in our labo\u00adra\u00adto\u00adries in 1999, but the starting shot for the Turtle Blower was the joint project with Breas in 2003,\u201d explains Product Manager Claudius Klose. \u201cThe ECI 30.20 drive that was devel\u00adoped then was the orig\u00adinal model for the drive in the Turtle Blower.\u201d The engi\u00adneers converted the motor previ\u00adously used from an external to an internal rotor motor, making a huge step in minia\u00adtur\u00adiza\u00adtion possible. \u201cThe Turtle Blower is four times smaller than its prede\u00adcessor, yet it has a greater power range and weights just half a pound,\u201d summarises Klose. For use in CPAP respi\u00adra\u00adtion devices, the blower has to satisfy specific require\u00adments. It supports the body\u2019s respi\u00adra\u00adtory reflexes with a controlled supply of air. Its air flow and pres\u00adsure must be contin\u00adu\u00adally adapted to the patient\u2019s own breathing. The blower drive must there\u00adfore be able to adjust its speed with extreme flex\u00adi\u00adbility. The devel\u00adop\u00adment engi\u00adneers at St. Georgen designed the blower to be suit\u00adably dynamic for a maximum oper\u00adating point at which a pres\u00adsure vari\u00ada\u00adtion of four to 20 millibars is possible within the space of 200 millisec\u00adonds.<\/p>\n

Quiet, robust and inex\u00adpen\u00adsive<\/h2>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Yet, nobody is awoken by a howling motor. The Turtle Blower\u2019s noise level of 40 dB(A) acoustic pres\u00adsure makes it rather a quiet companion. This is also the result of its smooth-running design, which gener\u00adates extremely low levels of vibra\u00adtion. In respi\u00adra\u00adtion devices, the blower is given addi\u00adtional damping and is encased in a foam cage within a sound\u00adproof box. The air intake and outlet ducts meander like an exhaust system for optimum noise minimi\u00adsa\u00adtion. The result is that the Breas iSleep device, for example, has a noise level of just 21 d B ( A ) acoustic power \u2013 perfect for a good night\u2019s sleep.<\/p>\n

The engi\u00adneers at St. Georgen achieved the smooth\u00adness with which the blower runs by using an iron-free motor. Air coils are used instead of stator teeth. This means that the motor has no magnetic resis\u00adtance, gener\u00adates less struc\u00adture-borne noise and has lower power loss. Because the EC tech\u00adnology employed has no brushes (wearing parts), the blower lives up to its nick\u00adname in terms of service life: around 20,000 hours, well over two years in \u201caround-the-clock\u201d oper\u00ada\u00adtion \u2013 even in unfavourable condi\u00adtions. \u201cDust parti\u00adcles hardly affect the blower. In prin\u00adciple it works like a vacuum cleaner,\u201d explains the Product Manager, stressing the robust\u00adness of the centrifugal blower. The EC motor\u2019s hall\u00admark energy effi\u00adciency means not only low current consump\u00adtion. In the case of the Turtle Blower it means above all else improved dynamics. The fact that it is highly compet\u00adi\u00adtive is the result of these numerous tech\u00adnical advan\u00adtages, but also the result of its cost-effec\u00adtive\u00adness. Its rela\u00adtively low produc\u00adtion costs also makes it econom\u00adical for the customer.<\/p>\n

One for all<\/h2>\n

While the core area of appli\u00adca\u00adtion of the Turtle Blower today is in respi\u00adra\u00adtion devices, its secret has not gone unno\u00adticed in other indus\u00adtries: high pres\u00adsure and low flow rate. The ideal working level for the CPAP appli\u00adca\u00adtion is also very inter\u00adesting for other appli\u00adca\u00adtions.
\nFor example, the stan\u00addard versions of the blower can also be found in hot air soldering devices and in smoke extrac\u00adtion systems. Take the TITANUS\u00ae product family of the company Wagner Group GmbH, the pioneering and glob\u00adally leading supplier of inno\u00adv\u00ada\u00adtive complete solu\u00adtions in fire protec\u00adtion. Here, the stan\u00addard Turtle Blower ensures that air is constantly extracted from the moni\u00adtored area and conveyed to the detector unit via a pipe system that may be up to 560 metres long. The continual suction power required for this sensi\u00adtive task is reli\u00adably provided by the high pres\u00adsure of the blower. Because the blower is extremely robust, this smoke detector system is espe\u00adcially well suited for problem areas where there is a high inci\u00addence of dust or even radi\u00ada\u00adtion. The system is prac\u00adti\u00adcally noise\u00adless, as the detector in which the quiet turtle works is located outside the moni\u00adtored rooms. There\u00adfore this system is well suited to detect smoke early, for example in hospital wards or in hotel rooms.<\/p>\n

\"cpap-zu_3060_frei\"<\/a>A new orien\u00adta\u00adtion<\/h2>\n

The company Truma Ger\u00e4tetechnik GmbH & Co. KG in Putzbrunn near Munich was also alerted to the high-perfor\u00admance Turtle Blower. The market leader in the field of liquid gas heating systems for leisure vehi\u00adcles and boats has devel\u00adoped a fuel cell that can be oper\u00adated with a conven\u00adtional propane gas bottle. Because the cell uses hydrogen as fuel, the propane gas first has to be converted in a so-called reformer. The portable VeGa fuel cell system simul\u00adta\u00adne\u00adously employs the blower for two different tasks.<\/p>\n

In the reformer, the Turtle Blower supplies the catalytic burners which provide the required temper\u00ada\u00adture for the reforming process. In the fuel cell, the blower conveys the oxygen from the ambient air to the cathode, also under high pres\u00adsure. The Turtle Blower performs both tasks controlled by valves. Although the stan\u00addard CPAP centrifugal blower already gener\u00adates a high pres\u00adsure with 20 millibars, the engi\u00adneers at St. Georgen had to modify the coils of the drive motor for Truma, as a higher oper\u00adating point was needed. The blower now gener\u00adates an oper\u00adating pres\u00adsure of up to 45 millibars in this appli\u00adca\u00adtion. And that is not the only thing that makes it a truly powerful universal genius.<\/p>\n

CPAP centrifugal blower ECI 30.20:<\/h4>\n