Stator Optimization for a Novel Magnetic Levitation Actuator

A novel planar actuator that utilizes mechanically driven stator magnet arrays to levitate a permanent magnet mover is proposed. A state of levitation and actuation is obtained by mechanically altering the orientation of the stator magnets to control the forces and torques on the mover. In this study, a stator design method is proposed, allowing decoupled sinusoidal traveling magnetic fields to be created. The decoupled magnetic fields are important for independent linear translations in the plane and allow for a conventional permanent magnet mover to be used in the actuator. This study obtained an airgap-dependent mean total harmonic distortion of 1.64%.