Abstract
Linear actuators are used in various industrial applications. Connentional linear actuators are a combination of a rotational motor and a ball screw, a hydraulic actuator, or a linear motor. However, these actuators have some demerits. This paper proposes a spiral motor (SPRM) that comprises a spiral stator and a spiral mover. Owing to its spiral structure, the SPRM can be expected to show better performance as compared to the conventional linear actuator. However, it is not easy to manufacture spiral stators and spiral movers. In this paper, thrust and torque equations derived from a magnetic circuit are introduced. A prototype is developed and its specifications are provided. Sixty fan-shaped stator blocks are mounted on the frame and forty-eight fan-shaped mover blocks with flat surfaces are mounted on the axis. These blocks form an approximately spiral structure. The blocks are not difficult to manufacture. The feasibility of the developed SPRM is confirmed by performing basic experiments. First, the SPRM is driven by using synchronous control. Subsequently, the thrust is measured by a load cell and the thrust constant is determined.
