Superconductors have tremendous potential for future industrial applications. They make it possible to suspend and move objects without contact – with minimal power consumption and no closed-loop control technology at all for suspension. Dust and abrasion-free operation makes them ideal for the protected conveyance of levitating objects in very clean environments. Handling functions which penetrate walls are also possible.
Superconductors are materials with unique magnetic properties. If you cool them below a certain temperature, they can store the field of a permanent magnet inside them. This creates a strong but invisible coupling. This keeps the magnet and superconductor at a defined distance from each other – even through walls, in liquids, or in a vacuum. As long as the superconductor remains below what is known as the transition temperature, its magnetic memory stores the fingerprint of the magnet, and therefore its position, even if the two are separated from each other.
There are already various technologies for moving objects by means of levitation. However, superconductors can offer completely new processes. Superconducting automation modules can be implemented with a variety of active actuators. This makes it possible for them to perform even unusual motion sequences, suspension operations and handling processes without contact. The SupraCube is the newest SupraMotion concept and enables the superconductor unit to be separated from the electric cooler to operate autonomously for up to two hours.
Keeping processes in the laboratory free of contamination is not easy. The equipment used, for example test tubes or measuring devices, which are brought into the work area from outside and can introduce impurities, are particularly problematic.
In its current SupraMotion concept, Festo is demonstrating the fully automated filling, contactless transport, and weighing of disposable freeze-dry containers in the cleanroom. The highest standards of cleaning and cleanliness are met thanks to SupraMotion levitation modules and products from the automation portfolio for laboratory applications.
SupraMotion's non-contact levitation module moves the freeze-drying container through an airlock into a symbolized clean room. A universally applicable, compact EHMD rotary gripper module opens the screw cap of the container regardless of its thread pitch. It is then transported one station further, where two VTOE dispense heads 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.
With its concept, Festo is showing 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. In this way, the most demanding challenges in laboratory automation can be mastered.
SupraMotion utilizes high-temperature superconductors made of ceramic material that are cooled down to -210 °C. The coolers currently in use consume a maximum of 40 watts of power per cryostat (cooling container). This keeps operating costs comparatively low. The levitating effect itself requires neither power nor control technology.
Thanks to its high thermal capacity, the system will even continue operating for several minutes in the event of a power outage. The coolers currently have a service life of more than ten years.
The contactless and frictionless form of superconducting levitation offers an elegant and practical solution to some of the most challenging problems in high-tech industries – from semiconductors, batteries, and biotechnology to pharmaceuticals, food, medicine, and laboratory automation. Reducing contamination of all kinds to an absolute minimum will help pave the way for the high-end technologies and products needed for a clean, healthy, and sustainable future.
The use of superconductors in industrial automation is still in the developmental stage. Yet completely new and efficient processes are already conceivable with this technology today.
As such, we are specifically investigating application ideas with partners and customers that can be implemented in pilot projects. Why not take the next step and join us in leading superconductor technology into the field of industrial applications?