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S
uperconductors allow objects to
be held in position contactlessly
without any control technology
and to be moved with only very
little energy. Entirely new forms of
movement can be generated that until
now seemed impossible. With the new
SupraMotion exhibits, Festo has further
extended the range of options for
positioning and movement shown to date.
With superconductor technology, effective
and constant cooling is important. The
three new applications have electrically
regulated coolers with a maximum power
rating of 80 watts.
“As soon as we get below the transition
temperature, we can precisely determine
the necessary cooling temperature with
the regulator, in accordance with the
system requirements,” explains Georg
Berner, Head of Strategic Corporate
Development, Group Holding Festo and
Project Coordinator for the SupraMotion
concepts. “If the superconductor is to
carry a greater load, we can cool it to a
lower temperature, for example.”
SupraJunction levitates above water
With SupraJunction, Festo demonstrates
the contactless transport of objects across
enclosed surfaces and through sluice
gates. Two carrier plates levitate above
the superconductors thanks to magnetic
rails mounted on the underside of the
plates. They transport small glass
containers around a circuit and are
transferred from one superconductor
element on one transport system to the
next element on a different handling
system.
During the contactless transfer from one
cooling tank – the cryostat – to the next,
an electromagnet attached to an electric
axis draws the carrier plate in the
effective direction of the magnetic rails.
Festo has thus for the first time realised
automated transfer from one system to
another in the horizontal plane and is
making suspended transport possible in
long process chains and across system
boundaries.
The levitating SupraGripper
also
grips and transports objects across
enclosed surfaces.