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16 November 2020
Tattooing has grown dramatically in reputation lately, pushed partially by new generations of tattoo machines that supply elevated ranges of flexibility, consolation and efficiency for artists.
Compact, light-weight, transportable and more and more battery operated, these new tattoo machines can be utilized wherever, at any location.
All of this locations stringent necessities on the motor – the prime mover within the tattoo machine and maybe essentially the most important ingredient of the machine design – as Vishal Sapale, Assistant Supervisor – Design Engineering, R&D at Portescap, explains.
The twenty first Century has seen one thing of a renaissance for the tattoo trade that has swept internationally. Wonderful artists and more and more refined expertise have redefined what is feasible in physique artwork, and what was as soon as thought to be symbolism for countercultures is now very a lot mainstream for self-expression.
Seeing them on our favorite professional athletes, musicians and celebrities solely provides to the recognition of this artwork type. Tattoos have even crossed over into the style and wonder trade. With the millennial era specifically driving the take-up of tattoos, the trade worldwide is now value many billions of {dollars} and is estimated to be rising at over 7% per yr, based on analysis by IBISWorld.
Tattoos are created with machines that use reciprocating needles to repeatedly penetrate an individual’s pores and skin at excessive velocity, depositing insoluble ink with every penetration into the dermal layer of pores and skin. Three precept inking strokes – lining, shading and colouring – are used to construct up the ultimate picture.
For lining, a single needle is used to penetrate the pores and skin. The stroke size, or ‘throw’, needn’t be nice to realize correct pores and skin depth penetration of the needle. For shading, which usually follows lining, a set of a number of needles is used concurrently to penetrate the pores and skin. Right here, the throw given by the machine must be higher than the throw used for one needle lining strokes. The final sort of stroke is colouring, whereby a number of needles, in a higher quantity once more, are used. For colouring, the throw must be higher than the throw used for shading strokes.
The variations in pressure velocity and depth for lining, shading and colouring implies that artists have historically used three separate machines; eliminating the necessity for changes of throw, and rushing up the general course of. Nevertheless, this association is dear in that three machines have to be bought, maintained and cleaned after every job. New era machines have a mechanism with added options that may alter stroke, velocity and forces. This permits a single machine to cowl all three stroke varieties, along with being efficient on all forms of pores and skin textures.
Tattoo machine varieties
The historical past of tattooing dates again many hundreds of years, however the first prototype of an electrical tattoo machine as we’d recognise it right this moment was patented by US tattoo artist Samuel O’Reilly in 1891, based mostly on the design by Thomas Edison for an electrical pen. There was an amazing evolution through the years, and right this moment there are two elementary working rules, named for his or her development and the best way the mechanism operates.
Coil tattoo machines utilise an electromagnetic circuit to offer linear motion to the needle. Usually, a coil tattoo machine has a number of DC coils and spring factors coupled with armature bar to maneuver needle groupings. The choice rotary tattoo machine, in distinction, makes use of an electrical motor with a rotating shaft having an offset cam mechanism at its finish to transform the rotary movement of the motor into linear motion for the needle.
Typical rotary tattoo machines are trigger-activated, in that the cam-slider and motor meeting are perpendicular to the needle-armature meeting. However the newest improvement in rotary tattooing machines is a pen sort design, with the mechanism and needle association in line in a cylindrical casing, providing an ergonomic design for the tattoo artist which is simple to manoeuvre.
Essentially the most important facet of those new machines is the motor. Not solely should or not it’s compact, light-weight and transportable, however it should additionally ship the required velocity and power density to satisfy the efficiency necessities of the three lining, shading and colouring strokes; sustaining all of the completely different reciprocating masses created by the mechanism. More and more, the motor alternative additionally should allow the tattoo machine to be battery powered.
Motor choice
Tattoo machines require motors with variable velocity and torque, so these design parameters are important traits to contemplate. Inadequate velocity and torque causes vibrations, which doesn’t permit the colouring liquid to unfold throughout the pores and skin uniformly. It is because the pigment doesn’t have the time to be absorbed by the dermis when the tip of the needle reaches the top place. If the motor has inadequate energy, then the artist should apply extra stress to the tattoo machine and to incline it. This will increase the penetration of the needle and accordingly the ache for the individual receiving the tattoo, in addition to inflicting trauma to the pores and skin. It additionally means elevated fatigue for the artist – an essential consideration the place every session can final a number of hours.
Motor regulation is the parameter of the motor which defines the velocity torque traits. The decrease the motor regulation, the extra highly effective the motor. Because the torque (load) will increase, the velocity decreases. If the motor regulation is healthier, then there may be much less velocity drop with the rise in load. This provides higher stability for tattooing, as there may be much less velocity variation with respect to load, leading to much less vibration and noise of the tattoo machine.
For subsequent era, battery powered machines, effectivity of the motor can be a important parameter. Larger effectivity will minimise energy losses and cut back present consumption, which can enhance the battery life.
Additional, the motor must be compact in measurement for correct ergonomics and dealing with of the tattoo machine. It also needs to be light-weight to scale back the general weight of tattoo machine, which can once more contribute to decreasing artist fatigue throughout longer tattooing operations.
As a result of the newest generations of rotary tattoo machines are being developed with extra options, similar to the power to carry out lining shading and colouring in a single machine, there are additional implications for the motor. Adjusting the stroke size (by a cam change) in addition to the velocity and the pressure all impression on the variable load amplitude and variable frequencies on the motor.
In taking a look at an appropriate motor, the designer should additionally think about the varied axial and radial forces generated throughout the tattoo machine mechanism. The load is often 3N to 9N, performing both radially or axially on the principle bearing relying on the character of the mechanism. Additionally, there may be fixed axial preload of 1N to 3N performing on the bearing.
Given these forces, and the truth that the velocity of the motor ranges from 4,000 rpm to 10,000 rpm, the dominant failure mode for motors is the bearing failure because of poor design of the mechanism or the mistaken alternative of the bearing for the quantity of response axial or radial masses. The primary indicator of a bearing failure in tattoo machines is both a rise in vibration felt by the artist or a rise within the motor noise as a result of put on of bearings. Most often, a rise in vibration is quickly adopted by a rise in noise till lastly, the motor fails.
For a motor to be appropriate to be used in tattoo machines, then, it should not solely meet the stringent efficiency necessities, but additionally think about correct choice of bearing to accommodate the reciprocating load on the motor shaft.
Miniature DC motors
Portescap develops miniature DC motors and has develop into a primary port of name for tattoo machine designers trying to make sure the best ranges of efficiency and reliability of their merchandise. Portescap presents miniature coreless DC motors in 16mm and 22mm body sizes, properly fitted to use in tattoo machines.
Together with decrease inertia and excessive acceleration functionality, these motors supply improved motor regulation and effectivity, in addition to excessive energy density and an excellent worth to efficiency ratio, all in a compact and light-weight bundle. Additionally, on condition that the joint between the shaft and bearing is important due to the cyclic axial and radial load of the tattoo machine, Portescap has developed optimised preloading of the bearing and the inflexible shaft-bearing joint to resist these load cycles. Therefore, Portescap motors produce decrease noise and elevated reliability in tattoo machines.
Optimised motor choice may be based mostly on house constraints (obtainable diameter and size) or by the motor efficiency. Typical Portescap fashions for tattoo functions requiring variable velocity and torque embrace the 22S78 motor, the 16N78 and the 17N78. The 22S78 motor has the perfect velocity torque traits, whereas the 16N78 motor has reasonable efficiency throughout the smallest diameter. The 17N78 motor presents reasonable efficiency with reasonable size and diameter.
Portescap motors are usually operated at excessive frequencies of 66-166Hz (4,000 – 10,000 rpm) and may lengthen to even greater frequencies. Most just lately, Portescap has launched its new DCT motors, which might ship even higher velocity and torque efficiency.
Lastly, customisation of various facets of the motor bundle is obtainable to satisfy particular buyer necessities, together with for the shaft, mountings, connections, aesthetics and extra.
