Investigation on the potential of PCB winding technology for high-dynamic and high-precision linear actuators

Slotless linear permanent magnet actuators are widely used in applications that require a high dynamics and precision in the motion. However, the windings limit the performances of such motors. A new technology, that consists in printing the windings on a PCB has shown promising results for rotary motor, as well as for tubular linear motor. This paper proposes to study the potential of this technology for a planar linear motor. To that end, an analytical model of the actuator is first presented, from which performance criteria related to the force density and to the force ripple are derived. Then, using those criteria, the results of a bi-objective optimization, based on an existing linear actuator, are presented. Finally, a first prototype is built and characterized in a test bench with a view to validate the optimization results and to make a comparison with the existing motor.