It was a rough week for the whole team working on a new customer’s new machine design. Finally, it’s Friday night and you sit down on the couch to relax with your friends. You made some popcorn and just popped in a DVD recommended by your parents. They told you it’s a classic and might be a bit slow but it has a good story. The movie starts and after 30 seconds, your friends are giving you confused looks. The movie is very difficult to watch because it is filmed in stop motion. The images on the screen are frozen and jump from one to the next. Sometimes it is half a second between shifts and sometimes it can be several seconds. You can see the evening disintegrating and quickly move to switch out the movie to ‘The Fast and the Furious’ for some non-stop action.

Some components are more mission-critical than others.  A main worry of machine design engineers is making equipment that will last and avoiding need for field service calls to diagnose issues and replace failing components.  At their core, electric linear screw actuators deploy mechanical technology such as ball bearings, ball screws and roller screws that have a finite life.  These components do not last forever, even though that is the expectation of some customers.  When asked “How long will this actuator last?” we provide our customers with a way to calculate, estimate and size the electric linear screw actuator to achieve the desired life for their applications. 

In automotive and heavy equipment industries machine designers and engineers know part quality and reliability are critical. That is why they often evaluate multiple linear motion technologies (hydraulics, pneumatic, electric) to determine the optimal solution for their component assembly or joining processes. It is imperative for their machines to produce quality parts that stand up to even the most demanding environments in harsh powertrain applications. Luckily, electric linear actuators offer engineers a solution for improving machine flexibility, precision, and reliability where legacy fluid power technologies (pneumatic and hydraulics) often fall short.

For an overview of how electric high-force linear actuators compare to hydraulic cylinders, see our white paper, Electric rod actuators versus hydraulic cylinders: a comparison of the pros and cons of each technology.

Producing food that’s delicious, affordable and safe requires a lot from manufacturers. Process automation makes affordability possible and ensures consistently top-quality food. Safe food products and beverages are free of contamination, so the equipment used in food processing has to meet crucial requirements for cleanliness. That includes linear actuators.

Selecting a linear actuator for a food processing application requires careful consideration. A machine designer may look at hydraulic cylinders, pneumatic cylinders, rodless electromechanical actuators and electric rod actuators. 

How are industrial linear motion components like icebergs?

They say 90% of an iceberg’s volume is hidden under water. When you buy linear motion components, specifically hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, the real cost may be hidden as well. If you’re looking for low cost linear motion, you may be attracted to the low purchase price of fluid power cylinders. However, purchase price is just the tip of the iceberg. To get a true picture, you need to look at total cost of ownership (TCO), including the long-term operating costs of the equipment.