Development of a magnetic linear motor based on a friction drive

A new type of magnetic linear actuator based on a friction drive is presented. It consists of a magnet mover with inclined legs and a solenoid coil wound around a pipe. An alternating magnetic field produced by the coil causes the magnet to vibrate angularly due to magnetic torque and then the vibration is converted to a linear movement through friction between the legs and the stator wall. The prototype exhibited the maximum velocity of 33 cm/s and the maximum thrust of approximately 0.05 N around the mechanical resonant frequency.