Design of a Magnetically Suspended Wheel for a Miniature Gyro Made Using Planar Fabrication Technologies

The technical feasibility of a magnetically suspended rotating wheel for miniature gyro and other applications, which was first investigated under a NASA SBIR contract, was assessed in much greater detail under a BMDO SBIR administered by DTRA. The configuration is amenable to economical and highly reproducible batch fabrication using the rapidly emerging planar fabrication technologies. The actuator for the wheel magnetic suspension was optimized for improved performance by exploring the design space through over 600 configuration variations using a finite difference magnetic circuit analysis technique implemented in a spreadsheet environment. Normal and tangential magnetic force components of circumferentially slotted rotors and stators were determined over a range of air gaps, slot width to tooth width ratios, slot depth to tooth pitch ratios and tangential displacements.