A Permanent Magnet Linear Motor for Micro Robots

Linear micro motors play a key role in micro robotic systems. They can greatly simplify the drive mechanisms and this is crucial for micro systems. By using permanent magnets, much higher force-to-volume ratios can be acquired than using electromagnets and better drive performance can be obtained. This paper describes the development of a tubular permanent magnet linear motor for the actuation of micro robots. Important design criteria are established by analytical method and numerical method is applied to obtain detailed characteristics of the micro motor. The performances of the micro motor are analyzed and predicted by the finite element analysis and dynamic modeling. The derived motor model is implemented in SIMULINK and is capable of being extending to complex robotic applications. The simulation of the motor operation shows that the dynamic performance is quite satisfactory.