Conveyor System with a Highly Integrated Permanent Magnet Gear and Motor

Magnetic gears have attracted increasing attention in recent years due to many possible advantages over mechanical gears. Many papers have been presented with theoretical proof of the basic properties and topologies of the magnetic gears and their parallels to mechanical counterparts. However, very little work has been done to implement the magnetic gears into actual applications which fully utilizes their desirable properties. This article presents a concept study and physical demonstrator of a magnetic gear and permanent magnet machine highly integrated into a drive unit for chain conveyor systems. Several current mechanical gear/motor combinations are replaced by the new drive unit, which is more compact and potentially more energy efficient. Moreover, the inherent overload protection of the magnetic gear eliminates the need for a mechanical slip clutch in the system, further reducing system complexity and improving reliability. An experimentally measured torque density of 142 N·m/L is obtained for the active magnetic gear volume.