Monday, November 10, 2008

Myth Buster: More Motors Make a Massage Chair Better

By James Knolan

Every industry has its myth about products, technology or features. The massage chair industry is no different and many myths have been put forward. One paticularly persistent one is about the number of motors. This myth claims that the more motors the better. There were claims of shiatsu massage chairs having 6, 10 or even 18 motors. Of course, having more motors can be advantegeous, but also has tradeoffs. Are these claims sustainable in reality. This myth is put to the test.

This myth buster will challenge the more motors the better the chair. There are inherent advantages to having more motors, such as more massage movements. As with anything, there are tradeoffs, such as quantity versus quality. Can a massage chair with 18 motors have the same quality motors in a chair with only 3 motors? Keep in mind that motors are one of the most expensive items in a massage chair. Since, motors are not cheap, as the number of motors increases, the cost of the chair increases holding the quality level equal. Obviously, there is a great chance as motors are added; the quality level of the motors will drop.

Weight is a consideration since motors weigh between 2 lbs to 5 lbs each. Imagine a massage chair with 18 motors, each weighing 5 lbs for a total of 90 lbs just in motors. Motors can quickly add more weight. Space is another important consideration. There is only so much space in a shiatsu massage chair for the motors and the mechanisms driven by the motor. Shiatsu assage chairs with 3 motors in the chair back are already constrained, where do the other 15 motors go?

How is the quality of massage with more or less motors? High end luxury massage chairs generally have 3 high quality motors to power the back massage rollers. There are individual motors to run the kneading massage and to run the tapping massage. The third motor drives the roller unit up and down the chair back. The tapping and kneading motors can be run simultaneously for the shiatsu massage.

Sometimes, 2 motors are used for the kneading by having them run the left and right side independently, but synchronized. The same can be done with the tapping. This can increase the number of motors to 5 in the roller system, but does the quality of massage increase? In our experience, we have not felt a noticeable difference in massage. Again, the tradeoff is to use cheaper motors since you need to have 2 rather than one or significantly increase the price, which puts the chair at a competitive disadvantage. So are more motors better?

If the motor does not create a new and unique massage, then what value does it add? Why have more motors and potentially more problems? The simpler the design, the higher the quality and the less problems down the road. Remember, each motor needs to have controls, software, wiring, etc. to integrate it into the overall massage chair. This drives complexity, increases the testing required to ensure quality and if cheaper motors are substituted, then reduces reliability. Do not buy into the myth that more motors the better for a shiatsu massage chair. Simple is always better! - 14130

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