The Technology and Application of Voice Coil Actuator: X.M.Feng, Z.J.Duan, Y.Fu, A.L.Sun D.W.Zhang
The Technology and Application of Voice Coil Actuator: X.M.Feng, Z.J.Duan, Y.Fu, A.L.Sun D.W.Zhang
The Technology and Application of Voice Coil Actuator: X.M.Feng, Z.J.Duan, Y.Fu, A.L.Sun D.W.Zhang
Actuator
X.M.Feng1, Z.J.Duan1, Y.Fu2, A.L.Sun1
D.W.Zhang
1.The Department of Military Logistics
2.The Department of Equipment Support School of Mechanical Engineering
The Academy of Military Transportation Tianjin University
Tianjin, China Tianjin, China
e-mail: [email protected]
AbstractBased on the Lorentz Force Principle, voice coil the magnetic field, the force acting upon those conductors is
actuator is a new-style versatile direct drive motors with special shown by Equation(1):
structure. Easy to be controlled, with high acceleration, high
speed, high reliability, pony size, smooth force and fast actuation F = kBLIN (1)
make it an ideal replacement for conventional electric motor. In where k equals a constant.
this paper, the operation principle of voice coil actuator is
expatiated, its sizing is discussed. And its current application In Fig.1, the direction of the force generated is a function of
fields is detailed. the direction current and magnetic field vectors. Specifically, it
is the cross-product of the two vectors. If current flow is
Keywords- voice coil actuator; Lorentz Force; technique principle; reversed, the direction of the force on the conductor will also
application reverse. If the magnetic field and the conductor length are
constant, as they are in a VCA, Then the generated force is
I. INTRODUCTION directly proportional to the input current.
Voice coil actuators (VCA) are versatile direct drive,
hystersis-free, non-commuted limited motion servo motors
with linear control characteristics. They are virtually ideal Coil
servo devices. The fundamental of voice coil actuators is they
employ a permanent magnet field assembly in conjunction with
a coil winding to produce a force proportional to the current
applied to the coil [1-3]. Inner Core
Figure1. Lorentz Force Principle
Originally used in audio loudspeakers, voice coil actuators
have gained recognition and acceptance in applications where Steel Flux Return
proportional or tight servo control is a necessity. Now, the Permanent Magnet
devices are used in linear and rotary motion applications
requiring high acceleration, high frequency actuation, and flat
force and displacement output. Typical applications for voice
coils include head positioning in computer hard disk drives, X Coil Holder
and Y positioning stages for machine tools; semiconductor
fabrication and packaging and so on [3-5]. Working Air Gap
Tubular Coil
B. Electronics
The VCA is a single phase, two terminal device. Application
of a voltage across the two coil leads generates a current in the
winding, producing a force on the coil directly proportional to (1/4)D (1/2)D (1/4)D
the current and causing the coil to move axially along the air
gap(Fig.2). The direction of movement is determined by the t1 t2 t3 t4
direction of current flow in the wire. When the coil moves (a) Trapezoidal move
through the permanent magnet field, a voltage (i.e., the "back
emf") proportional to the coil velocity, the magnetic field, and vmax
the length of the conductor is induced across the coil. The
power supply used to drive a VCA must provide sufficient
current to meet the application's force requirements. It must
also provide sufficient voltage to overcome the back emf at
(1/2)D (1/2)D
maximum coil velocity and to allow for the resistive and
inductive voltage drops across the winding.
t1 t3 t4
(b) Triangular Move
III. VCA SELECTION
Figure4. Point-to-point Motion
A. Linear Actuators where: vmax = rated operating speed of actuator, mm/sec
In general, four parameters will determine actuator selection: vTRAP = average speed of actuator for a specified
peak force requirement (FP), trapezoidal move, mm/sec
vTRI = average speed of actuator for a specified
RMS force requirement (FRMS), triangular move, mm/sec
linear velocity (v),and D = total distance traveled, by moving coil
t1 = acceleration time, seconds
total stroke or move distance (D). t2 = run time, seconds
(1) Peak Force t3 = deceleration time, seconds
Peak force, FP is the sum of the force due to load, FL, friction t4 = dwell time, seconds.
FF, and the acceleration of mass Fm: And in Fig.4(a), for acceleration portion of curve:
vmax + 0 (1 / 4 )D , D (5)
FP = FL + FF + Fm (2) = v = max
2 t1 2t1
Looking at the separate components, the force due to the for entire move:
load is the force acting directly against the actuator at all time.
vTRAP =
[(1 / 4)D + (1 / 2)D + (1 / 4)D] = D (6)
The force due to friction is determined by the mechanical (t1 + t 2 + t3 ) 3t1
configuration of the complete motion assembly and includes vmax D / 2t1 3 i.e.,
such factors as bearings, grease,linkages, surface-to-surface = = vmax = 1.5vTRAP (7)
vTRAP D / 3t1 2
contracts, etc. Finally, the force due to the acceleration of mass
And in Fig.4(b), for acceleration portion of curve:
893
vmax + 0 (1 / 2 )D , D (8) (W / g )R 2 WR 2 WR 2
= v max = J= = =
2 t1 t1 2 2g (
2 9804.4 mm / Sec 2 ) (13)
for entire move:
[(1 / 2 )D + (1 / 2 )D ] = D (9)
(
= 5.1181 10 5 2
Sec / mm R W ) 2
vTRI =
(t1 + t 3 ) 2t1 (3) Solid cylinder (about center diameter)
vmax
=
D / t1
= 2 i.e., vmax = 2vTRAP (10) J=
(W / g )R 2 + (W / g )L2 =
(
W 3 R 2 + L2 )
vTRAI D / 2t1 4 12 (
12 9804.4 mm / Sec 2 ) (14)
(4) Stroke (
= 8.6614 10 6
)(
Sec / mm 3 R 2 + L2 W
2
)
Stroke may be specified as the total displacement from one (4) Solid cylinder (about axis through end)
end of travel to the other end, or as a plus/minus displacement
from a mid-stroke reference point. J=
(W / g )R 2 + (W / g )L2 =
(
W 3 R 2 + 4 L2 )
4 3 (
12 9804 .4 mm / Sec 2 ) (15)
B. Rotary Actuators = (8.6614 10 6
Sec 2
/ mm )(3 R 2
+ 4L 2
)W
The four parameters required for proper sizing of linear
actuators have rotary equivalents: IV. APPLYING VCA
peak torque requirement (TP),
RMS torque requirement (TRMS), A. Theroy Foundation
As shown in equation (1), the force produced by permanent
angular velocity (),and magnet, linear VCA is linearly proportional to the current
angular displacement or stroke. through its coil. The ratio of the force to current is called the
The rotary equivalent to the acceleration force equation is force constant, KF, of VCA:
shown in equation (11): F = kBLIN kBLN = F / I K F = F / I
TJ = J L+C a ( K F = T / I : rotary equivalent) (16)
(11)
Where TJ is the torque required to accelerate a body about
axis located at its center of mass, JL+C is the sum of the actuator UC (=I R )
coil and reflected load inertias, and a is the loads angular
acceleration rate. U VCA
UB(= v KB)
UL (=L d I /dt)
Figure 6. VCA Equivalent Circuit
894
B. Force Control Operation As shown in Fig.11 and Fig.12, other voice coil applications
In its simplest servo form, the VCA is used as a force requiring high speed and acceleration include precision
generator, where velocity and position are not critical positioning device and semiconductor fabrication [2,8-10].
considerations. In this mode, an operational amplifier is used to
adjust the current level applied to an actuator based on the V. CONCLUSIONS
signal generated from some feedback element that senses force, Voice coil actuators are simple, two-terminal, non-
directly or indirectly. Fig.7 illustrates the force mode block commutated electromagnetic devices increasingly employed in
diagram. a wide variety of linear and rotary motion systems. Their fast,
U (=IR)
smooth, cog-free, hysteresis-free response characteristics make
Compactor Amplifier VCA voice coils ideal for applications requiring high speed and
acceleration, linear force or torque response and tight servo
U O(=IR) control.
IO R
VCA VCA
Figure7. Force Control Mode
Velocity control V
compensation P C P
A
Position control
compensation Figure12. VCA Used in Bonding Head
895