Magnetic Levitation
Classic electro-mechanical experiment for nonlinear dynamics and control challenges
The Quanser Magnetic Levitation device is a single degree of freedom electromagnet-based system that allows users to levitate a ball vertically up and down. The overhead electromagnet generates an attractive force on the metal ball that initially sits on the post. The position of the ball is measured using a photo-sensitive sensor embedded inside the post. The system also includes a current sensor to measure the current inside the electromagnet’s coil.
Learn More- One degree of freedom
- Electromagnet made up of a solenoid coil and steel core
- Photo-sensitive ball position sensor
- Ball position sensor can be calibrated according to lighting conditions
- Analog coil current sensor
- Derivation of dynamic model from first-principles
- Transfer function representation
- Linearization
- Current control
- Position control
- PID
- Feed-forward
- Control parameter tuning
The following additional components are required to complete your workstation, and are sold separately:
For Simulink
- QUARC® add-on for MATLAB®/Simulink®
- Quanser VoltPAQ-X1 linear voltage amplifier
- One of the following DAQ devices:
- Quanser Q2-USB
- Quanser Q8-USB
- Quanser QPIDe
For LabVIEW
- Quanser Rapid Control Prototyping (Q-RCP) Toolkit® add-on for NI LabVIEW™
- Quanser VoltPAQ-X1 linear voltage amplifier
- One of the following DAQ devices:
- NI CompactRIO with two Quanser Q1-cRIO modules
- NI myRIO with Quanser Terminal Board
- Quanser Q2-USB
- Quanser Q8-USB
- Quanser QPIDe
Product Details
| Device mass | 3.8 kg |
| Dimensions (H x W x L) | 15.1 cm x 15.1cm x 27.6 cm |
| Ball position sensor sensitivity | 0.28 cm/V |
| Coil inductance | 412.5 mH |
| Coil resistance | 10 Ω |
| Number of turns in the coil wire (approximate) | 2450 |
| Coil length | 8.25 cm |
| Coil steel core radius | 0.8 cm |
| Electromagnet force constant | 6.53 x 10–5 N.m²/A² |
| Current sense resistance | 1 Ω |
| Steel ball radius | 1.27 cm |
| Steel ball mass | 0.068 kg |
| Steel ball travel | 1.4 cm |
| Magnetic permeability constant | 4π x 10-7 H/m |
