A Study on Edge Supported Electromagnetic Levitation System: Fundamental Consideration on Levitation Performance of Thin Steel Plate

Recent years, high quality thin steel plate is used for many industrial products. A production line of thin steel plate includes a transport system utilizing the friction force induced by contact. However, the deteriorates of surface quality from contact with rollers is a problem. As a solution to this problem, non-contact conveyance systems applying electromagnetic levitation technology have been proposed. From the previous study, control horizontal displacement of thin steel plate using electromagnet. Using horizontal displacement control, we confirmed improvement performance of magnetic levitation system. By using an electromagnet installed horizontally direction, a vertical force to support the steel plate and a horizontal force to suppress elastic vibration act on the steel plate. Focusing on these forces, we have proposed a magnetic levitation system for a steel plate with simultaneous horizontal positioning control and vertical non-contact support using a horizontal electromagnet. In this study, we carried out levitation experiment using magnetic levitation system. We verify levitating characteristic of thin steel plate.