Modelling and characterisation of Wavedrives' novel 'magnetic screw' actuation technology

效率和便利性正在推动全球范围内从液压和气动驱动到电动驱动的广泛发展。对更可持续的解决方案，更安全的自动化环境，可穿戴仿生设备，服务机器人和其他人类近距离和离网应用的需求正在加强这一趋势，并建立对新型电动驱动的需求，以克服现有技术的局限性。典型的问题是效率低下、复杂性、体积和齿轮传动带来的成本，以及可实现峰值效率的速度范围狭窄。WaveDrives颠覆性的电动驱动技术响应了这一需求，借鉴了我们在构建用于商业开发的假肢和机器人设备方面的丰富经验。SILA的工作原理类似于磁性螺杆，具有一体化非接触式传动，具有超高效、高度可扩展、安静、无摩擦、紧凑、精确、无间隙、可进入保护、可关闭动力反向驱动、本质上无干扰、几乎不需要/不需要维护，并且易于制造。这些特性和其他新特性提供了阶跃变化运动控制性能，SILA已经在航空航天、假肢、建筑、国防、物流和制造业的各种应用中进行了评估。除了解决多个领域的运动控制问题外，SILA的超高效能源利用表明，一旦大规模生产，它将成为帮助应对气候变化的工具。WaveDrives已经开发了一个电子表格，为SILA的规模提供指导，以提供客户指定的推力水平。然而，预测问题仍然存在，尽管广泛的努力，以调和理论与实践和每个估计需要耗时的实验确认。一个更完整，迫切需要对SILA中使用的磁性材料和磁场进行分析了解，以便WaveDrives能够自信地指定满足客户需求的产品版本，并规划产品范围以满足广泛的应用空间。在该项目中，WaveDrives将与国家物理实验室（NPL）的国际专家合作开发一个分析推导和验证的电子表格模型和理解来解决这个问题。利用NPL和WaveDrives独特的设施和专业知识，通过创新的磁特性、力测量、分析和数值模型的组合，可以对SILA致动器中的力进行可靠和稳健的描述。SILA与成熟、完善的致动技术竞争，致动通常对设备设计至关重要。投资于颠覆性的新驱动技术的行业决定代表了一个重要的承诺。该项目将帮助WaveDrives确保这些决策，提高SILA的竞争地位，并降低WaveDrives技术商业化的风险。

Efficiency and convenience are driving a global and widespread move from hydraulic and pneumatic to electric actuation. Requirements for more sustainable solutions, safer automated environments, wearable bionic devices, service robots and other human-proximal and off-grid applications are reinforcing this trend and building demand for new types of electric actuation to overcome the limitations of existing technologies. Typical problems are inefficiency, complexity, bulk and cost introduced by gearing and a narrow range of speeds where peak efficiency is achievable.WaveDrives disruptive electric actuation technology responds to this demand, drawing on insights from our deep experience building prosthetic and robotic devices for commercial exploitation.A first linear actuator (SILA) using this technology was launched in 2019. SILA works like a magnetic screw and has integral non-contact transmission, is ultra-efficient, highly scalable, quiet, frictionless, compact, precise with no backlash, ingress-protectable, back-driveable off-power, intrinsically non-jamming, needs little/no maintenance, and is straightforward to manufacture. These and other novel characteristics offer step-change motion-control performance and SILA is already being evaluated for diverse applications in aerospace, prosthetics, construction, defence, logistics and manufacturing. As well as solving motion-control problems in multiple sectors, SILA's ultra-efficient use of energy indicates its potential as a tool to help counter climate change, once in mass production.WaveDrives has developed a spreadsheet that provides guidance on scaling SILA to deliver customer specified levels of thrust. However, prediction issues persist despite extensive effort to reconcile theory with practice and each estimate requires time-consuming experimental confirmation. A more complete, analytical understanding of the magnetic materials and fields utilised in SILA is urgently needed so Wavedrives can confidently specify product versions that will meet customer needs and plan a product range to address the extensive application space.In this project WaveDrives will collaborate with international experts from the National Physical Laboratory(NPL) to develop an analytically derived and validated spreadsheet model and understanding to solve this problem. A reliable and robust description of the forces in the SILA actuator will be produced using an innovative combination of magnetic characterisation, force measurement, and analytical and numerical models, using NPL and WaveDrives' unique facilities and expertise.SILA competes with mature, well-established actuation technologies and actuation is often critical to equipment design. Industry decisions to invest in a disruptive new actuation technology represent a significant commitment . This project will help WaveDrives secure such decisions, improving SILA's competitive position and de-risking WaveDrives technology commercialisation.