Development of a three-degree-of-freedom control magnetic suspension system using laterally control flux-path mechanisms

A magnetic suspension system with three flux-path control mechanisms are developed to achieve three-dimensional positioning of the suspended object (floator). In the flux-control mechanism, a ferromagnetic control plate is located in the lateral direction of the magnetic source (permanent magnet). It was shown that the attractive force acting on the floator could be varied by moving the control plate in the vertical direction. In addition, the lateral force was generated by using two control plates located on both sides of the floator and moving them differentially. In this work, an apparatus is fabricated which has three flux-path control mechanisms. The configurations of the apparatus are described. Stable suspension is achieved and basic characteristics are studied. In addition, 3-degree-of-freedom (3-DOF) control suspension is achieved by moving three control plates individually. The 3-DOF control is evaluated by moving the floator in circular orbits.