Structural Simplicity and Performance Comparison of Magnetic Lead Screws without Spiral Permanent Magnets

Abstract

Feed screws are used in various industrial machines and robots to convert rotational motions into linear motions. Mechanical screws, such as ball screws and slide screws, transmit force via frictional contacts through which noise and heat are being generated; thus, the drive efficiency is decreased. To address these problems, we have proposed some types of magnetic lead screws (MLSs) without spiral permanent magnets. The design has no spiral permanent magnets and comprises relatively few components. However, the differences in the thrust density and productivity due to the structural differences have not been reported. This paper investigates and discusses the performance and productivity of the MLSs without spiral permanent magnets based on a magnetic field analysis using a three‐dimensional finite element method. The MLSs are designed under the same size and basic design parameters. The analysis results of the thrust and torque characteristics of the MLSs are shown and compared, and their productivity is evaluated by the number of components. © 2021 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Disturbance Response and Force Control of a Magnetic Lead Screw Actuator

“…We proposed a CPMLS as the SPM structure without a spiral PM [2]. The CPMLS can be configured with the fewest components and is easy to manufacture.…”

“…We have developed a novel magnetic lead screw actuator (MLSA) without spiral shape permanent magnets [1,2]. According to a simple magnetic structure, we have achieved an MLSA that is easy to build and has high power.…”

“…In Ref. [2], the thrust densities of the MLSs have been compared. MLSAs have a flexible response to the external force due to the force transfer via magnetic force between the stator and moving parts.…”