2024 Volume 32 Issue 2 Pages 264-269
Magnetic bearings (MBs) can support a rotating shaft without contact using electromagnetic force. A common 5-DOF magnetic levitation system uses two radial MBs and one axial MB. However, this system tends to become large due to the combination of three MBs, and it poses an issue of reduced critical speed as the shaft length increases. Therefore, 3-DOF MBs with an integrated structure combining radial and axial MBs have been proposed to address these challenges. In this study, we propose reluctance-type 3-DOF MBs capable of providing support in 3-DOF with a high support force density. In this paper, we present a structure that can increase the opposing surface where the magnetic attractive force acts to achieve high support force density. Additionally, to further improve the support force density, we propose a new excitation method based on the characteristic of magnetic flux interference in 3-DOF MBs.
