The development of traditional manufacturing can be roughly divided into the following stages. The first generation is the era of Industry 1.0, which mainly involved manual production lines, the earliest assembly line method. It primarily used chain and friction drives, i.e., belt-type production lines. Later, we entered the era of Industry 2.0 or 3.0, which is the so-called semi-automated and automated production line stage. Typical applications included the addition of many rotary servo systems, synchronous belts, linear motors, etc. In the third stage, Industry 4.0, intelligent flexible production lines were introduced. A typical application is the magnetic levitation flexible loop line. Of course, there are several types of loop lines, including circular types and those that connect to linear lines, etc.
Currently, users have increasingly higher demands for production line personalization, including requirements for digitalization, human resource factors, and customer uncertainty. At the same time, multi-variety, small-batch production also places various demands on production lines, such as continuously improving productivity, maintaining higher product quality, flexible production capabilities, and high-speed/high-precision production lines. ● Inability to produce asynchronously or at non-fixed cycle times, and inability to perform synchronous movements;
Figure 1. Comparison of technical performance of magnetic levitation flexible line, shift fork mechanism, and belt conveyor.
Figure 1 compares the technical performance of magnetic levitation flexible lines, shift fork mechanisms, and belt conveyors. It is evident that magnetic levitation flexible lines exhibit significant advantages in terms of flexibility, stability, ease of maintenance, intelligence, and return on investment.
The "pain points" of traditional production lines
The development trend of flexible circular conveyor lines stems from the inability of traditional technologies to meet customers' demands for high speed, high precision, and flexibility. This addresses the pain points of some traditional logistics lines (primarily belt and chain transmission systems).
● Belt conveyors generate dust particles during friction, which can affect product quality, especially in the panel industry where high cleanliness requirements for workshops are essential.
● Low production efficiency (slow speed, poor precision), for example, the belt needs to be repositioned a second time;
● High cost, difficult maintenance, and high energy consumption;
● Poor scalability.
The "pain point" for manufacturing customers lies in their demand for high-speed production lines (4s, 3s lines), while the loading and unloading time of traditional line designs is a "bottleneck" and cannot achieve the productivity of flexible production lines. In addition, customers require rapid product changeover, with a requirement to complete product changeover within 4 hours. Currently, only magnetic levitation flexible circular lines can meet user needs.
Principles, architecture and advantages of magnetic levitation transmission technology
(1) Technical principles and advantages of magnetic levitation transmission lines
● High efficiency: high acceleration, high speed, high precision, no need for secondary positioning;
● High flexibility: Each mover can be controlled independently, enabling synchronous/asynchronous control and a wide load range;
● High cleanroom rating: No cables, no particulate dust;
● High versatility: Modular design, short manufacturing cycle;
● High scalability: The stator can be extended to 500 meters, and the number of movers can be increased to 256;
● The equipment can save more than 40% of the floor space.
(2) Basic types of magnetic levitation systems
Magnetic levitation systems can be broadly classified into two categories: loop lines and connecting lines. Connecting lines can be further divided into two types: direct drive and direct drive + belt hybrid.
Standard circular line square circular line
Track-changing circular line
Figure 2 iTS circular line classification
iTS Loop Line Principle and Classification
The basic principle of a circular track motor is as follows: the mover is a cable-free magnet, and the stator integrates a dedicated magnetic levitation driver and coils. The entire stator and mover together form a basic magnetic levitation direct-drive motor. A basic standard for circular tracks is the racetrack shape, because a modular production method is used, so each stator is modular. Straight segments can be inserted into the middle of the arc-shaped guide rail to form a square circular track, which can be selected according to needs. Currently, circular tracks mainly include three types: standard circular tracks, square circular tracks, and variable-track circular tracks, as shown in Figure 2.
The technical principle of the connecting loop line is basically the same as that of the loop line. The connecting type is further divided into direct drive and direct drive + belt return types. Connecting lines are divided into horizontal connecting type, vertical connecting type, vertical connecting belt hybrid type, and horizontal connecting belt hybrid type.
