Linear drives for material handling and processing: A comparison of system architectures

For integrated material handling and processing in industrial applications, permanent magnet (PM) linear drive systems are proposed. Solutions with Short Primary and Long Primary are compared. The Long Primary type uses an active track and passive, lightweight vehicles. The active track consists of a large number of segments, each operated by an individual controller and inverter. Experimental results of the Long Primary type are presented. The Short Primary type uses a passive track and an active vehicle that is supplied by a contact less energy transmission and is operated by an on- board controller and inverter.