The truth is, the advantages of magnetic bearings have been known for a long time. The principle of using electromagnets, sensors, and active electronics to suspend objects without mechanical contact was demonstrated by Jesse Beams at the University of Virginia back in the 1950s. Despite the long history of magnetic bearings, today only a small fraction of rotating machinery is supplied with magnetic bearings. What's the reluctance towards the widespread use of this technology?

We believe that in the past, the acceptance of magnetic bearings was impeded because the bearings did not meet basic engineering criteria related to performance, simplicity, size, and cost:

Performance. Magnetic bearings must be unconditionally stable for just about any operating condition of the host machine. This includes conditions of high dynamic loading caused by surge, stall, ingestion of liquid slugs, cavitation, motor electrical faults, and other transient conditions.

Simplicity. Magnetic bearings must be easily integrated into new and existing designs of rotating machinery. To facilitate this integration, the bearings should be offered in standard sizes, be easy to mechanically and electrically integrate into the machine, and be accurately modeled using standard techniques. Additionally, the bearings should be simple to optimize and operate, and interface with other plant systems for process control, health monitoring, and trending. The size, quantity, and length of cables between the controller and the magnetic bearings should be kept to a minimum. The overall complexity of the magnetic bearing should be hidden from the mac]]>