Force the pace

With the cost and size of low-power drives coming down, they are increasingly being used in a wide variety of applications, from polishing machines in the watchmaking industry to improving the efficiency of a Cornish park's water fountain.

And this growth looks set to continue, due to greater demand from emerging economies — especially Brazil, India, Russia, China and eastern Europe.

A recent report from the US-based advisory group

estimated the low-power drives market has a compounded annual growth rate of 9.8 per cent on a market valued at some $7bn (£4bn) in 2007.

One company at the forefront of this boom is Switzerland's

, which manufactures production machines for what is described as 'the high-class watchmaking industry'. At the heart of Crevoisier's Universal c-5001 lapping and polishing machine is

Commander SK drive.

The machine, which polishes small parts to a precision of a micron for these high-end watches, has to be able to operate at constant torque at variable and accurate low speeds to get the required finish levels. The drive can be run between 250 and 3,750rpm and, as a bonus, is claimed to be quieter than the previous set-up.