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Float-A-Shaft® Right-Angle Gearbox Introduced to Milling Industry
Tolomatic’s first product, the Float-A-Shaft®, was introduced in 1954 to improve efficiency in the way the flour and milling industry packaged bags of flour. Burton Toles designed a bagger/sealing machine using the rightangle gearbox Float-A-Shaft design which he sold to the milling industry. Its successful performance created demand from other manufacturers. Recognizing the problems facing other industrial equipment suppliers and manufacturers, Burton Toles set out to find other solutions.. |  |
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 | Cable Cylinder Emerged as the First Rodless Cylinder
In 1955, Tolomatic introduced the first rodless cylinder, the Cable Cylinder, to the industrial world. It offered a huge space-saving advantage to industrial manufacturing companies because the Cable Cylinder could perform the same mechanical function in half the space. With the use of a cable and an internal piston mechanism the cumbersome rods used in cylinders available at the time were eliminated, allowing the Cable Cylinder to produce stroke lengths totally contained within the cylinder itself. |
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Power Transmission Products Introduced
With the advent of the Cable Cylinder, Tolomatic became known as the innovator and leader in the fluid power industry for developing products to meet the specific needs of customer requests. Products that soon followed on the heels of the Cable Cylinder were Caliper Disc Brakes and Disc
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 | Tolomatic Introduced Band Cylinder
and Linear Slide
After the introduction of its power transmission products, a whole new line of fluid power products started to emerge. In 1985, Tolomatic introduced the Band Cylinder, a patented design of rodless cylinder with the same space-saving characteristics as the Cable Cylinder, but with loads supported by the cylinder for control over bending moments. Then in 1990 came the Linear Slide, a pre-engineered, self-supporting slide actuator that guides and supports loads the length of the stroke. |
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Tolomatic Introduced Magnetically Coupled
Cylinders and Slides
In 1991, rod cylinder slides were introduced along with the Magnetically Coupled Cylinder and Slides, each meeting a specific need in the fluid power industry. Tolomatic is the only manufacturer that makes all four types of rodless actuators – Cable Cylinder, Band Cylinder, Linear Slide and Magnetically Coupled Cylinder. |  |
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 | BC3 and BC4 Band Cylinders Introduced
In August of 1995, Tolomatic added to its Band Cylinder product line the BC3™ Band Cylinder which used a recirculating ball-bearing system, combined with a carrier and bearing rail system to allow load carrying capacities of up to 2008 lbs. Tolomatic also introduced the U-Block to its line of rod cylinder slides offering a cost-effective slide with an extruded housing. Then in April of 1996, the BC4™ Band Cylinder was added to Tolomatic’s wide line of rodless actuators, offering the lowest possible breakaway force for applications where loads are guided and supported. |
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Tolomatic Entered the Electrical Linear Motion and Controls Market
In October of 1992, Tolomatic entered a whole new realm of marketing opportunities with the introduction of electric motion control products. As the electric actuator industry started to emerge, Tolomatic’s engineers utilized existing lead screw/belt technology and combined it with Tolomatic rodless actuator technology to introduce the first consumer configurable, electrically operated rodless actuator. Designed for precise motion controlled movements, the electric product line offered application engineers a wide selection of solutions to their design challenges. |  |
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 | Electric Product Line Expanded
Tolomatic expanded its electrical product offerings in 1998 to include a line of brushless servo control systems – motors, controllers, controller/drives and drives – all compatible with its complete line of screwdrive and belt-drive actuators. Tolomatic’s Windows® based sizing and selection software made complete systems easy to choose. Electric linear motion systems contain all the components necessary – actuator, controls, motors, motor mountings, coupling and cables – for fast and easy installation.. |
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Rod Screw Actuators Introduced
Introduced in August of 1998, the RSA rod screw actuator complemented the electric rodless actuator line. These actuators offer a wider selection of body sizes with higher thrust capacities and a broader range of motor choices than any competing line. |  |
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 | Guided Screw Actuators Introduced
In May of 1999, Tolomatic introduced the GSA guided screw actuator which combined the precise, repeatable positioning, high thrust capacity and flexibility of the rod screw actuator with a self-contained load guidance and support system. Feature rich and available in four body and screw sizes, the GSA guided screw actuator increased the number of different styles of electric actuators to five. |
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Axiom Drive Joined the Electric Product Line-up
June of 1999 brought a significant addition to the line of electric motion control products, the Axiom® drive. Designed and developed by Tolomatic, Axiom® uses state-of-the-art DSP controlled digital vector commutation with easy-to-use Windows® software. Axiom offers accurate high bandwidth control of torque producing current, better efficiency and more torque over the full speed range than traditional sine drives.
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 | TruTrack™ Screw and Belt-Drive Actuators Introduced
In June of 2000, Tolomatic released the TruTrack screw and belt-drive actuators. Now six unique styles of body and guidance systems were available in the line of electric linear actuators. TruTrack offers higher thrust and velocity with a lower deflection rate than any other Tolomatic actuator. These actuators combined flatness and straightness specifications within 0.0002 inches per inch with high direct & moment load resistance and high payload capacity. Combined with the Axiom® drive, this actuator/drive combination delivers high performance with efficient operation. |
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Tolomatic Released the Axiom®Plus Controller/Drive
Tolomatic streamlined the arduous task of buying, programming, wiring and combining a variety of control devices with a single preengineered solution – the Axiom®Plus Controller/Drive. Easy to setup, use and program, the Axiom®Plus combines a PLC and controller with the Axiom drive to create an all-in-one motion control system. Easy-to-use, Windows®-based programming software defines pointto- point moves with a click of the mouse. No need to learn a new programming language.
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 | Tolomatic Entered the Automotive Spot Welding Market
In 2002, Tolomatic introduced its first electric servo cylinder for the automotive spot welding market. This integrated actuator, the HT series, featured an integrated motor/ actuator design. It is used on the most demanding automotive welding applications. In 2003, Tolomatic launched the SW series of integrated servo motor based on extensive voiceof- the-customer input. The SW is a patented motor/actuator design used on weld guns for robotic and pedestal welding applications. In 2004, Tolomatic was awarded a multi-million dollar order to supply an entire automotive plant with electric servo weld guns, all powered by Tolomatic electric SW actuators. |
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A Radically Redesigned Rodless Band-Style Actuator
Tolomatic took the industry-leading features of its band style actuator line and re-engineered them to make them even better with the introduction of the MX pneumatic and electric screw-drive actuator lines in 2007. Designed with Endurance Technology features, these new designs offer increased durability and product performance. |  |
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 | New Line of MX Belt-Drive Actuators Released
In 2008 Tolomatic further extended its MX family of products to include two different styles of belt-drive actuators. The MXB was designed for applications that require high linear velocities and accelerations, long stroke lengths and high duty cycles. This includes automated assembly, milling or work center positioning. The MXB-U requires external guidance and support. The MXB-P with profiled rail bearing system supports large moment loads, high-speed operation and high precision. |
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SmartActuator – An Integrated Rod-Style Actuator
with Fully Programmable Motion Control is Introduced
In 2009, Tolomatic introduced the ICR all-in-one electric Smart-Actuator (programmable digital drive, servomotor and actuator) providing 100 percent duty-cycle performance for industrial motion-control applications. Available in a plug-and-play Basic or fully programmable ICR Plus. The ICR Plus is designed for operation in stand alone mode, communications mode, stepper mode or analog position mode. From multi-axis pick-and-place systems to solutions requiring programmable motion profiles the SmartActuator makes linear motion easy to apply. |  |
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 | IMA Rod-Style Actuator with Integrated Servo Motor Technology Made its Debut
In 2009, Tolomatic also introduced the IMA integrated motor actuator with a servo motor integral to the actuator. This compact design, offers the highest force capacities in Tolomatic’s electric actuator line. The patent-pending design allows for easy re-lubrication of the actuator without disassembly for extremely long service life. |
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New Rod-Style Electric Actuator Introduced to Challenge the Pneumatic Disposable Cylinder Market
In June of 2010, Tolomatic launched a completely new style of non-repairable electric actuators that provide a cost-effective alternative to disposable pneumatic cylinders. This line of actuators also provides a low-cost way of automating multiple manual processes. |  |
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Custom product challenges are always welcome
In addition to offering the broadest line of rodless actuators, rod cylinder slides, electric linear motion actuators and controls plus Power Transmission products, Tolomatic specializes in creating "special" products for applications requiring special solutions not available with standard components. Whether it is a modification to one of our catalog products or a completely new customized design for a specific application requirement, Tolomatic will take the challenge. Often called upon to create products for customers with very specific needs...needs that other manufacturers cannot provide in a timely fashion...Tolomatic is making a name for itself as an innovative company with the resources to design and build solutions for a wide variety of linear motion applications.
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 | Resources For The Competitive Edge
Tolomatic is located in Hamel, Minnesota, a western suburb of Minneapolis, in a 100,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility with future expansion capabilities. Tolomatic distributors and their customers are encouraged to tour the facility to experience first hand the company philosophy and dedication to providing the best products, service and delivery.
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Skilled machinists in the on-site model shop and engineering lab regularly make specialized tooling and prototypes. All Tolomatic products are put through rigorous testing in its engineering lab. New products are continually tested and opportunities to create customer “specials” are welcomed. On-site manufacturing and assembly facilities, complete with the latest in CNC machinery offer flexibility in providing the best, cost-competitive solutions to design problems. Highly trained mechanical, electrical and application design engineers, together with a dedicated sales staff, create efficient, leading edge solutions to customer needs. Working together with Tolomatic distributors and their customers, they can provide workable solutions for demanding applications. 5-day delivery is standard. Express orders are shipped in 2 days. Many products and replacement parts are available with 1-day delivery.
Tolomatic is an ISO 9001:2008 certified firm. Every 6 months quality system audits are performed to ensure quality standards are enforced. Tolomatic has built its business to meet the challenge of ever increasing customer expectations. ISO compliance will ensure that the necessary controls and disciplines remain in place as we continue the quest for excellence in everything we do.
Since the introduction of the Float-A-Shaft® in 1954, it is Tolomatic’s philosophy to discover customer needs and provide products that satisfy them. Tolomatic makes quality products at a competitive price with an unconditional customer satisfaction guarantee. |
