I superconduttori hanno un grande potenziale per l’uso nell’industria del futuro. Consentono lo stoccaggio e la movimentazione di oggetti senza contatto, a bassa energia e senza alcuna tecnica di regolazione. Il loro metodo di lavoro senza polvere e senza attrito è ideale per un trasporto protetto di oggetti levitanti in ambienti sterili. È anche possibile la manipolazione attraverso le pareti.
I superconduttori sono materiali con proprietà magnetiche uniche: se raffreddati sotto una certa temperatura, possono ancorare il campo di un magnete permanente al loro interno. Questo crea un accoppiamento forte ma invisibile, che mantiene magnete e superconduttore a una distanza definita l’uno dall’altro, anche attraverso le pareti, nei liquidi o nel vuoto. Finché il superconduttore rimane al di sotto di questa cosiddetta temperatura critica, la sua memoria magnetica memorizza l’impronta del magnete e quindi la sua posizione, anche se i due sono separati.
There are already various technologies for moving objects using levitation. However, superconductors open up opportunities for completely new sequences. Superconductor automation modules can be designed with a wide range of active actuators. This enables you to carry out even unusual motion sequences, handling tasks and different types of storage without any contact. The latest SupraMotion concept, the SupraCube, enables autonomous operation for up to two hours by separating the superconductor unit and the electric cooler.
Keeping processes in the laboratory free of contamination is not easy. The equipment used, for example test tubes or measuring devices that are brought into the work area from outside and can introduce contamination, are particularly problematic.
In its current SupraMotion concept, Festo demonstrates the fully automated filling and contactless transport and weighing of disposable freeze-dry containers in the cleanroom. Thanks to SupraMotion levitation modules and products from the automation portfolio for laboratory applications, the highest standards of cleaning and cleanliness are met.
SupraMotion's contactless levitation module moves the freeze-drying container through an airlock into a symbolic cleanroom. A universally applicable, compact rotary gripper module EHMD opens the screw cap of the container regardless of its thread pitch. It is then transported to another station, where two dispense heads VTOE fill the container with liquid. The non-contact scales integrated into the transport system allow the filling quantity to be checked precisely at all times during the entire process.
The Festo concept demonstrates how innovative superconductor technology can be combined with automation solutions for the life science sector to create a reliable overall concept that meets the highest standards of cleaning and cleanliness. The most demanding challenges in laboratory automation can be thus be mastered.
The contactless and friction-free form of superconductor levitation offers an elegant and practical solution for some of the most challenging problems in high-tech industries, from semiconductor, battery, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals to food and medical technology as well as laboratory automation. Reducing contamination of all kinds to an absolute minimum will help pave the way for the high-end technologies and products that are needed for a clean, healthy and sustainable future.