Abstract
Magnetic springs are a fatigue-free alternative to mechanical springs that could enable compliant actuation concepts in highly dynamic industrial applications. The goals of this article are: (1) to develop and validate a methodology for the optimal design of a magnetic spring and (2) to benchmark the magnetic springs at the component level against conventional solutions, namely, mechanical springs and highly dynamic servo motors. We present an extensive exploration of the magnetic spring design space both with respect to topology and geometry sizing, using a 2D finite element magnetostatics software combined with a multi-objective genetic algorithm, as a part of a MagOpt design environment. The resulting Pareto-optima are used for benchmarking rotational magnetic springs back-to-back with classical industrial solutions. The design methodology has been extensively validated using a combination of one physical prototype and multiple virtual designs. The findings show that magnetic springs possess an energy density 50% higher than that of state-of-the-art reported mechanical springs for the gigacycle regime and accordingly a torque density significantly higher than that of state-of-the-practice permanently magnetic synchronous motors.
Highlights
The principles of elastic actuation, first introduced by Alexander et al [1], whether in series [2]or in parallel [3] elastic actuators have been consistently proven to improve actuator performance in service robotics
The goal of this paper is to offer a robust spring solution, in the form of magnetic springs, that can extend the use of elastic actuation from service robotics to widespread industrial robots and a much broader family of highly dynamic industrial motion systems
Unlike the previous efforts on the topic, where effort was focused on a specific use, this paper studies the optimal design of a magnetic spring in more detail and demonstrates systematically the studies the optimal design of a magnetic spring in more detail and demonstrates systematically the impact of a magnetic spring on the performance of highly dynamic industrial actuators
Summary
In parallel [3] elastic actuators have been consistently proven to improve actuator performance in service robotics. These systems rely on the high torque and force density of mechanical springs to reduce peak power requirements and to improve the actuator’s energy efficiency. The goal of this paper is to offer a robust spring solution, in the form of magnetic springs, that can extend the use of elastic actuation from service robotics to widespread industrial robots and a much broader family of highly dynamic industrial motion systems. Spring design for highly dynamic loads in industrial use is typically limited by the long lifetime requirements and often leads to suboptimal designs for the purposes of elastic actuation. It was considered that for some metals there is a stress level called the fatigue limit, that can be sustained
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