Design Guidelines
Transport System Design
104 MagneMotion
Rockwell Automation Publication MMI-UM002F-EN-P - October 2022
Vehicle Materials
Some examples of commonly used vehicle materials and considerations:
Steel:
• Good strength properties.
• High density yields heavier vehicles.
• Caution is required when using carbon steel (a ferromagnetic material).
• 300 series stainless steel is suitable.
Aluminum:
• Good combination of comparatively high strength and low mass.
• Less caution is required because of no magnetic attractive force.
• The area under the vehicle magnet array must be clear of aluminum as the aluminum
can create eddy currents, which create a breaking force.
Wheel Materials
Some examples of commonly used wheel materials and key considerations:
Steel:
• Durable, typically used in systems that move heavy payloads or for difficult environ-
mental conditions.
• Low rolling resistance.
• When used on a metal guideway are typically noisier than plastics.
Plastic, Teflon, or Urethane:
• Plastics with a high durometer number (hardness) are a good choice of wheel material
for many applications, particularly for systems with moderate to low payload weights.
• Plastic or urethane wheels can develop a small flat area if the vehicle remains station-
ary for a long time period due to the vehicle mass. In most cases, these flat spots disap-
pear after the vehicle is put in motion again.
• Higher rolling resistance than steel, but usually operate more quietly than steel wheels
when used on a metal guideway.
• Typically requires the vehicle be grounded to the guideway with static brushes.
Mounting Magnet Arrays to Vehicles
Magnet arrays are provided with locating features to make sure of consistent mounting to the
vehicles and threaded standoffs for attachment. Arrays must be attached using stainless steel
hardware that fully engages the threads in all magnet array mounting standoffs.
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