I am new to this and probably trying to run before learning how to crawl but I bought an Arduino Uno with the goal of building a miniature maglev project I've had in mind.
I would like to use something other than a hall effect sensor to measure the air gap because I do not want to have a magnet on the item being levitate.
After looking at lots of different sensor options I was hoping an inductive proximity sensor could work but all the sensors I can find seem to be set up with a switch instead of a linear output. My goal would be to maintain an air gap of 3-5mm using a pid controller.
The magnets would be mounted underneath a rail and would be used to lift a car (bogey).
I know most maglev projects use the hall effect sensor mounted directly between the magnet and the object and I imaging that would not be possible with an inductive sensor due to the field produced by the magnet, could the sensor be mounted next to the magnet?
If this wouldn't work, could someone provide a suggestion for another sensor option?
Something that is not influenced by magnets.
Ultrasonic sensors does not seem the right choice (there might be noise, there is speed, very short distance is required).
With radar is possible, but I can not find a module for that short range.
Perhaps with optical sensing : IR (infrared), light, laser, ToF (Time of Flight), LIDAR.
andrewjenkins34:
I know most maglev projects use the hall effect sensor mounted directly between the magnet and the object
Interesting, I would expect them to be affected by the magnetic fields used for the levitation itself.
Anyway, do start off by finding complete build plans for those projects and build an exact copy. That way you know you start off with a working proposition, always a good starting point, and you give yourself a very good chance of actually getting it to work.
Next part is to take it apart again (or build another) and try to understand how all the bits and pieces work, and what their role is in the whole assembly. Make little changes and see what breaks the thing, what improves it, and in what ways.
Having done that, you will get a bit of a feeling for such projects, the Arduino, and everything around it. That's when it's time for you to start making modifications in the hardware, the layout, etc. Learn to crawl before you learn to run
