A Novel Low Dissipation Long Stroke Planar Magnetic Suspension and Propulsion Stage

This paper presents a novel Planar Active Magnetic Bearing [PAMB] set-up implying reluctance forces for accurate vertical bearing or suspension and integrated Lorentz force type linear motors for fast propulsion in the XY$-plane. The principle joins power economic performance, submicrometer positioning and, in principal, unlimited long planar strokes. The paper will deal with all aspects of the design, including the working principle, the dimensioning of the magnetic circuitry, the mechanical design and the controller aspects. Results will be presented of experiments on the first prototype, which is capable of handling an XY stroke of 160 mm x 160 mm. First, the project's motivation is treated together with its history and approach. Then, the development of the novel bearing/motor combination principle is cleared by design considerations and (tested) improvements.