Actuator shielding
Magnetic shielding is an important aspect for precision mechanical actuators for MECAL to stabilize frames for machines in the chip industry. Magnetic fields can interfere with the sensitive electronics used in industry. Multiphysics Finite Element Method simulations are used to simulate the actuators and determine which parts have the most influence on the magnetic shielding. The simulations concern both static and dynamic magnetic fields. The interest in MECAL lay mainly in the low frequency region of magnetic shielding, typically between stationary behavior and a few kHz.
Design shielding
The current design was entered into the Finite Element Method (FEM) model, and the stationary fields were determined. Very important are the non-linear input data of the materials supplied by the supplier. During the work it became clear which components play a crucial role in shielding. An optimal design of the shielding was determined by Physixfactor, which allowed immediate savings on material costs for this part.
Magnetic Flux in Gauss units
In the actuator it is important to gain a good insight into the course of the Magnetic Flux Density. Within the finite element software, material definitions can be chosen in which the properties are not linear. In the left figure we see a graphical impression of the progression along the axis of symmetry.