“We’re ready to start taking orders, and I already have a few,” Beckhoff said to a large group of end users and machine builders who raised hands quickly to be next in line. Attendees witnessed hovering magnets specifically carrying glass vials, packaged meat, and other consumer goods while flying with six degrees of freedom above a flat surface area with no rails, visible paths, or configurations.

 

“This intelligent transport technology does not replace conveyor belts,” said Uwe Prüssmeier, Beckhoff’s senior product manager, Drive Technology. “But XPlanar clears the way for completely new innovative plant concepts. It could completely change the way you build systems.”

 

The XPlanar principle is free floating, non-contact planar movers that hover over a surface area made up of either steel, glass, or plastic tiles — depending on the end user or OEM’s preference, industry, or application. Traveling magnetic fields generated in the planar tiles specifically move objects in any kind of pattern through various tracks, enabling batch one applications and flexibility in product handling. The movers are available in different formats to fit a range of applications, and the tiles move chiefly to accommodate production and the individual goods by automatically lifting, lowering, weighing, tilting, or rotating while traveling.

 

XPlanar is driven by Beckhoff’s TwinCAT 3 software platform for control and engineering and the company’s industrial PC scalable hardware platform. The contactless movers enable maximum freedom of movement, according to the company. Because the movers are controlled by magnetic fields, there are no mechanically moving parts, which eliminate the possibility of wear, vibration, and noise. The XPlanar can also be used in demanding environments since the surface area tiles can be hygienically-designed for food and pharmaceutical applications.

 

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