Design of Low Cost Active Magnetic Bearing

An alternative design of a low cost magnetic bearing is presented in this paper. The main components are originaly used for electronic drives. The digital controller is realized with a DSP-controller, the power amplifier uses 3-phase IGBT modules. The reflective position sensors are designed for consumer applications. A special attention is paid on the magnetic core which is realized with 3 phase motor laminations. Advantages and disadvantages of these laminations are discussed. A method to calculate the losses is presented. Different winding schemes are discussed.