This proposal requests an Expedited Award for Novel Research to investigate a novel concept of a high performance, linear induction motor (LIM) based system for transporting raw material, manufactured parts and tools in manufacturing systems. Existing technology for material transmission is slow and bulky. The proposed concept consists of multiple lightweight vehicles, each using a pair of linear induction motors for propulsion along an overhead guideway. The vehicles would circulate around the guideway at high speeds. A major distinction between the proposed system and existing overhead track systems is the very high accelerations and velocities that can be obtained using linear induction motors. The time between a request for a vehicle and the completion of the required delivery is expected to be less than a minute over reasonable distances. A prototype vehicle and guideway have been designed and constructed. The proposed research will enable the feasibility of the concept to be proven. Crucial system concepts will be tested in order to evaluate the potential to leap-frog existing material transportation technologies. The results will provide an assessment of LIM performance and of vehicle/guideway performance and identification of future research needs in this area. If this work is successful, a follow-on proposal will be submitted to address the future research issues. There is a need for a raw material, manufactured part and tooling transmission network that has properties similar to and can be treated logically like a data transmission network. The objective of the proposed research is to prove out the feasibility of such a system. The benefits of the proposed system include rapid transmission of material, just-in-time delivery, elimination of need to buffer parts, and modularity of system design.
