Magnet school: Avcon Inc. is teaching industry something about the power of magnets, and its frictionless bearings are on a roll.

Most schoolchildren learn of the fascinating properties of magnets, and how like poles of magnets repel each other. Few pursue it further after they grow up.

But for Woodland Hills-based Avcon Inc., the power of magnets is a serious and growing business, which might someday help make pollution-free motor vehicles commonplace.

"I have always been interested in the power of magnetic levitation technology, so when I took early retirement from Hughes (Aircraft) in late 1988. I started up Avcon," said Crawford Meeks, 65, company founder and president.

From a two-man shop, Avcon has grown to 22 professional and technical employees, and is "looking very hard" for an additional cadre of electrical and mechanical engineers, said Meeks.

In the past, the bulk of Avcon's revenues were tied to government research contracts, defense industry contracts, and a smaller portion of commercial work.

"But we are now making the shift from a research and development shop to a manufacturing operation," said Meeks.

At the heart of Avcon's business is the "magnetic bearing," a virtually friction-free bearing.

Using a mix of strong permanent magnets and electromagnets, Avcon can levitate a rotating shaft inside a sleeve, thus eliminating the need for ball bearings and grease. The spinning shaft is literally suspended in air by magnetic repulsion.

Avcon's magnetic bearings are unusual in that they use patented rare earths to enhance the power of the magnets.

Contrary to popular belief, iron is not the only metal that can be magnetized (though it is the key to any magnet). Other metals, such as nickel, can be used to increase the magnetic pull of iron, said Meeks.

One way this system is being put to use is through Avcon's turbo molecular vacuum pump, designed to help create very clean rooms for the computer chip industry.

In the manufacture of computer chips, any speck of grease or debris is too much. Avcon's pumps, with their magnetic bearings, have an advantage as they do not use grease-lubricated ball bearings.

The grease, as well as extremely small particles of metal debris (from the ball bearings) in conventional pumps, can get into the clean rooms, said Meeks. The magnetic bearings eliminate one potential source of contamination.

Given the growth in the computer industry, Meeks hopes that production of the pumps will rise to thousands of units from hundreds, he said.

Perhaps Avcon's most promising project is providing a magnetic bearing for a 3-foot-wide flywheel, slated to be installed in a bus at the University of Texas at Austin later this year. The flywheel will generate electricity to power the bus, and is sometimes referred to as a "mechanical battery."

"That flywheel will revolve at 40,000 (revolutions per minute)," said Meeks. "It will help power a bus."

The very high rpm's are necessary so that a significant amount of energy can be stored in the flywheel - a wheel revolving at that speed would eventually burn out conventional ball bearings. In addition, conventional bearings cause a loss of energy due to friction, said Meeks.

"For this application, the magnetic bearing is perfect," said Meeks.

The flywheel, and the Avcon-supplied magnetic bearing, will be housed in a vacuum, in a specially reinforced box. The box will both maintain the vacuum and protect bus riders in the event of "flywheel failure" - it the flywheel either disintegrates or comes off its axle.

The outer rim of the flywheel will be spinning at bullet-like speeds, said Meeks. "That's something that needs to be contained."

In places where maintenance is difficult. Avcon's magnetic bearings have a built-in advantage thanks to the elimination of ball bearings, which must eventually be re-greased or risk burn-out.

For example, defense contractor Northrop-Grumman Corp. is contracting with Avcon to install magnetic hearings on a large gas-powered turbo-generator.

The final application of the turbo-generator is not known, but Meeks said it makes sense to suppose that U.S. Navy ships and submarines need maintenance-free equipment while on assignment.

Though Meeks keeps his cards close to his chest, he allows that revenues are slated to rise sharply in 1997, and that the number of engineers on board could rise by more than a handful.

"We have spent seven years perfecting magnetic levitation, so I think it's about time we start producing," he said.

Spotlight

Avcon Inc. Year Founded: 1988 Core Business: Magnetic beatings Employees in 1988: 1 Employees in 1997: 24 Revenues in 1988: $200,000 Revenues in 1996: $2 million Top Executive: Crawford Meeks Goal: To make the switch from defense and aerospace work to the commercial sector, and to move to production work in addition to research and development.