ORCA motors have only one moving part: the magnetic shaft enclosed in the stator. Because of this simple design, ORCA Motors require very little maintenance compared to similar linear actuators. The most common maintenance an ORCA motor will require is replacement of the composite bushings on either end of the stator. The exact service life of these bushings depends on the application, how often the shaft moves, at what speeds, and the sideload applied to the shaft. When the motor is operating under very low sideloads, the bushings can even reach over 50 million cycles.

IGUS manufactures the iglidur G bushings that ORCA motors are equipped with. Their website has a helpful calculator for determining the lifecycle of the bushings. The bushing size is automatically filled out by typing the following article number into the calculator, GFM-2526-25. 

Follow Along with Written Instructions

1. To remove the bushings, first remove the ORCA motor’s shaft. The shaft is shipped with two collars on either end to keep the shaft in place. Remove these with an Allen key. It is important to note that the ORCA motor’s shaft contains very powerful magnets. Caution must be taken when removing the shaft to prevent it from attaching to another metal object or potentially causing injury. For more information on fastening an ORCA Motor’s shaft to a fixed surface, review our mounting tutorial.
2. Use a dowel to push the bushings out of the hole in the stator and replace them by pushing them back into the hole until properly seated.
3. The shaft can now be re-inserted. Before programming a motion profile, it is important to re-zero your motor’s shaft. For more information on Autozeroing, check out our Iris Tutorial.
   
   

Download ORCA Motor Bushing Installation and Removal Tools [STL] from our Downloads page, both in metric and imperial options.