Frequently Asked Questions
System Configuration
What is the limit on the number of Flyways and the number of XBots in a system?
No technical limit on the number of supported Flyways. No limit on the number of XBots, as long as the XBots can geometrically fit inside the Flyway working area.
Any limit on the layout of Flyways?
All Flyways should be aligned with their neighbor Flyways; other than that, there is no limit.
How should the Flyways be mounted?
Customers will be provided a template to make their own application-specific mounting plate. The template will match the four M8 threaded holes in the Flyway bottom side. In each Flyway, one 4 mm pin hole and one 4-mm wide slot are used for alignment on the mounting plate.
What is the tooling mount on XBots?
Our XBots come with standard tooling mount including threaded holes and dowel pin holes. We can provide XBots in customer specified tooling mount as well.
Features and Performance
Is position feedback incremental or absolute? How about homing procedure?
The built-in position sensors provide absolute positions for each XBot instantly after system power up. No homing or initialization process is needed.
Other than going along X or Y, can the XBots move diagonally?
Yes. Each XBot can go along an arbitrary path, specified by external position setpoint stream, pre-configured trajectory, or motion commands.
What is the positioning repeatability of XBots?
XBot repeatability is less than 5 micron in all directions. XBots with less than 1 micron repeatability are also available.
How are XBots identified?
Our Flyway built-in sensors not only measure six-axis position, but also detect unique “fingerprint” on each XBot right after system power up. With absolute ID feature, each XBot is assigned a unique and consistent ID, in despite of power cycles.
Operation
What is the operating principle?
XBots are propelled by controllable three-dimensional magnetic fields generated from a two-dimensional coil matrix. The resulting forces are used to control the position of the XBots in X, Y, Z and in Rx, Ry, Rz, namely the rotary motion around X, Y, Z, respectively.
How should my machine controller interface with the Planar Motor System?
Planar motor systems support all major industry standard communication interface, such as EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, PROFINET RT/IRT, and POWERLINK. We support all control platform whenever possible. Our customers can use the controller hardware/software that they are most comfortable with, and there is no need to learn or adapt to a new programming environment.
What drives should I use to drive the Planar Motor?
No additional drives are required. All drive electronics are integrated inside Flyway modules.
How should I control the XBots to avoid collision?
Our system automatically manages collision avoidance without user intervention.
What is the typical learning curve of controlling the planar motor system?
Based on our previous experience of system commissioning in America, Asia, Europe, typically our customers can master the control/operation of our Planar Motor Systems in a few hours.
What is the power consumption?
Each Flyway consumes about 6W at standby; each XBot M3-06 may consume about 13~20W at stationary 1-mm levitation without load and up to 100W momentarily at high acceleration with payload.
What is the operating voltage of the Flyway module?
The Flyways operate at 48V DC.
Which environments are Planar Motor systems suited for?
Planar Motor Systems are well suited for most industrial environments: from harsh/dirty environments to ultra-clean (food, pharmaceutical, aseptic, vacuum) environments. Planar Motor systems cannot operate in an environment with an abundance of ferrous debris, as ferrous particles will be attached to the XBot magnet.
Reliability and Maintenance
What is the maintenance schedule?
No maintenance requirement, no periodic lubrication, no tightening/alignment effort. Truly maintenance-free.
what is the lifetime of the system?
10+ years. The long lifetime is due to the Planar Motor system being entirely solid state.
What materials are used to cover Flyway modules?
303/304/316L stainless steel, plastic.
Where are planar motors manufactured?
Planar motors are invented, designed, and manufactured in Vancouver, Canada.
Is there a strong magnet field surrounding the XBots?
XBot design ensures magnetic field is confined inside the gap below. Minimum leakage from XBot top and side surfaces.
Other
What is the typical application?
Packaging, assembly, inspection, testing, semiconductor, and various other automated procedures in the factory.
Under a payload, will the levitation height change?
No. Each XBot's levitation height is precisely controlled in all six axes. An off-center payload won't affect the X/Y/Z and pitch/yaw/roll position at all.
How about cooling requirements?
Passive cooling by natural convection is usually sufficient. Each Flyway is equipped with push-to-connect fittings. In applications requiring better temperature management or higher acceleration/payload, water can be optionally pumped through heat exchange channels inside Flyways.
