Optimal design of a linear induction motor for woodworking machine application

In a woodworking machine, the wood to be cut is usually fed by a rotary electric motor through a ball-screw mechanism, which is complicated and inefficient. Linear induction motor (LIM) is an attractive candidate to replace the conventional drive system, due to its simple structure, large thrust, high reliability and long life. In this paper, a LIM for such application is designed, by optimizing the primary tooth width and the number of poles so as to increase the motor starting thrust. Moreover, the air gap length and the secondary copper sheet thickness of the LIM are also analyzed to investigate the parameters sensibility. Both finite element analysis (FEA) and prototype tests are employed to verify the optimization.