SBIR Phase I: Scalable Magnetically-Geared Modular Space Manipulator for In-space Manufacturing and Active Debris Remediation Missions

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是一种新型后驱动变速箱技术的去风险和催化作用，该技术可能会逐步改善机器人和自动化系统的运营成本、故障前平均时间、效率、高生产能力和制造能力，特别是在微重力/空间环境中。与现状相比，这种无齿隙齿轮箱具有隔离振动并在无需维护的情况下运行更长时间的潜力，将这种无间隙齿轮箱与商业现成的伺服电机和控制器集成在一起，可以使商业原始设备制造商(OEM)和美国政府实体创建在微重力环境中具有更高吞吐量和更快迭代研究能力的平台和商业空间站，从而为半导体、生物技术、先进材料和其他行业提供大量好处。目标规格与具有飞行传统的末端执行器相关，以实现月球、近地轨道、地面机器人制造和科学应用的快速过渡。通过对这项技术的投资，这家获得HUBZone认证的公司同时在公司所在的HUBZone地区创造了STEM和制造业的就业机会，并在整个社区增加了对STEM的敞口。此外，该公司的产品正在并将继续完全从美国采购和制造，以刺激美国制造业经济和供应链安全。该SBIR第一阶段项目提议开发和验证正在申请专利的创新磁通角映射磁齿轮的工作原理，并确定空间执行器的可行性，以实现磁齿轮技术的商业化。提出的非接触式磁齿轮箱是一种全新的磁齿轮箱拓扑结构，具有一套不同于所有其他现有磁齿轮箱拓扑结构的新颖工作原理，并且从未作为操作原型进行演示。之前已通过高保真有限元模拟和解析推导对其进行了验证。第一阶段的第一个关键目标是设计、制造和测试FAM磁力变速箱的原型。第二个关键目标是使用有限元分析结合第一个原型的实验结果来重新模拟和表征第二代最小可行产品磁力齿轮的性能。评估成功的机制是四个里程碑的成就：(1)设计可制造技术演示器，验证可制造性；创建操作原型(2)演示预期的传动比，验证基本工作原理，以及(3)与模拟结果一致，验证我们的模型；(4)设计与空间相关的全尺寸齿轮，校准模型，验证商业可行性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project is the derisking and catalyzing of a novel backdrivable gearbox technology that will potentially step-improve robotic and automation system operating costs, mean-time-before failure, efficiency, high throughput, and manufacturing capabilities, especially in microgravity/space environments. Having the potential to isolate vibrations and operate far longer without maintenance compared to the status quo, integrating this backlash-free gearbox with commercial-off-the-shelf servo motors and controllers could enable commercial original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and U.S. government entities to create platforms and commercial space stations with higher throughput and faster iterative research capabilities in the microgravity environment, offering a plethora of benefits for semiconductor, biotechnology, advanced materials, and other industries. The targeted specifications are relevant to end-effectors with flight heritage to enable rapid transition for lunar, low-earth orbit, terrestrial robotic manufacturing, and scientific applications. Through investment in this technology, this HUBZone-certified firm is concurrently creating STEM and manufacturing jobs in the HUBZone area in which the company resides and increasing exposure to STEM in the community at large. Moreover, the company’s products are and shall continue to be, fully U.S.-sourced and manufactured to stimulate the U.S. manufacturing economy and supply chain security.This SBIR Phase I project proposes to develop and validate the operating principle of the patent-pending innovative flux angle mapping magnetic gear and determine space-actuator feasibility for the commercialization of magnetic gear technology. The proposed noncontact magnetic gear is an entirely new magnetic gearbox topology with a novel set of operating principles that differ from all other existing magnetic gearbox topologies and have never been demonstrated as an operational prototype. It has been validated previously by high-fidelity finite element analysis (FEA) simulation and analytical derivation. The first key objective of Phase I is to design, fabricate, and test a prototype FAM magnetic gearbox. The second key objective is to use FEA combined with the first prototype's experimental results to re-simulate and characterize the performance of a second-generation minimum viable product magnetic gear. The mechanism to assess success is the achievement of four milestones: (1) designing a manufacturable technology demonstrator, validating manufacturability; creating an operational prototype (2) demonstrating the expected gear ratio, validating the fundamental operating principle and (3) performing in concordance with the simulation results, validating our models; (4) designing a full-scale space-relevant gear with calibrated models, validating commercial feasibility.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.