Abstract
The repulsive-type magnetic bearing (RTMB) using permanent magnets for levitation and radial control enable system applications to be developed cheaply and simplify the control scheme. A balance system for mass measurement using RTMB was designed and fabricated in our laboratory. This system has some problems which generate an error in the measurement. It was found that the value of the error is large, and as a result, the system is less sensitive when it is used for measuring micro-masses. In this paper, the design of the previous system is modified to decrease the measurement error and increase the system's sensitivity to enable it to measure micromasses precisely. The configuration and operating characteristics of both the previous system and the modified one are explained. The experimental results confirm that the modified system can measure micromasses more precisely than the previous one.
