Calnetix Technologies Awarded Three New Patents; 29 Total in Company's History

Latest Patents Cover Turbomachine Wheel Position Control, Combination Radial/Axial Electromagnetic Actuator, Power Electronics Self-Diagnostics Device

Cerritos, California – February 12, 2015 – Calnetix Technologies, a world leader in developing and manufacturing high-speed permanent magnet motor generators, power electronics and magnetic bearings for a variety of applications and industries, recently received three new patents bringing the company’s total to 29.

The latest patents cover turbomachine wheel position control technology developed by Director of Technology for Magnetic Bearings Larry Hawkins, a combination radial/axial electromagnetic actuator also by Hawkins with Principal Research Engineer Alexei Filatov and a power electronics self-diagnostics device by Manager of Power Electronics Liping Zheng and Dong Le, the former Director of Technology for Power Electronics, who recently retired from the company.

“Our drive to continuously innovate is essential to maintaining our leadership position in high-speed machines,” said Calnetix Technologies Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO Vatche Artinian. “We’re proud of the work all our engineers do each and every day and of the innovative solutions they continually provide to our OEM customers.”

The turbomachine wheel position control patent pertains to the use of magnetic bearings to control the position of the rotating assembly.

“We’ve developed a position sensor that can be used to measure the axial position of an impeller, by detecting either the blade tips or a continuous surface, such as the back of a centrifugal impeller,” said Hawkins. “The sensor output can be fed into our magnetic bearing controller and used as either a control or offset signal depending on the application requirements.”

In regards to the combination radial/axial electromagnetic actuator patent, Filatov said, “All commercial axial actuators responsible for generating axial forces in rotating machines on magnetic bearings currently rely on non-laminated iron to conduct magnetic fluxes because laminating them is considered impractical. As a result, whenever magnetic fluxes change in time in response to dynamic loadings, they induce electrical eddy currents in the non-laminated parts, which reduce the bearing load capacity, complicate controls, increase power consumption and generate heat.  We found a practical way of laminating most of the axial control flux path in Calnetix’s combination radial/axial electromagnetic actuator, further enhancing its performance and efficiency.”

The newly patented self-diagnostics device further increases the reliability of Calnetix’s power electronics systems.

“By developing a diagnostic algorithm through firmware and utilizing existing hardware, it is possible to implement self-diagnostics on all of our motor drives,” said Zheng.  “This allows for the early detection of any component degradation, thus minimizing system downtime.”

About Calnetix Technologies
Calnetix Technologies, LLC (“Calnetix”), headquartered in Cerritos, CA, is focused on Innovation That Drives Industries™. The company specializes in high-performance, high-speed motor generators and best-in-class advanced magnetic bearings and control systems. Calnetix’s patented, underlying technologies, which have been in use since the company’s inception in 1998, have made Calnetix a world leader in the design and production of high-speed machines. The company’s overall technology portfolio and system integration capabilities have led to development and production contracts with industry leaders and the start of many successful subsidiaries that focus on unique niche markets. For more information, please visit www.calnetix.com.