Hydraulic cylinders are well-known linear motion workhorses in industrial machinery.   They’re reliable, familiar, capable of high force, and affordable, but they’re not without disadvantages. The leading ones are fluid leaks, large footprint (with hydraulic power unit or HPU), cumbersome changeovers due to lack of programmability, and high maintenance costs.

The introduction of electric high force linear actuators means machine designers now have a choice. An electric rod actuator can replace a hydraulic cylinder and eliminate the need to clean up leaks.

Some linear actuator application requirements mean you have to go long. Long stroke, that is. Length of stroke is a critical factor in electric linear actuator selection. While some applications require moves of just inches or a few feet, others require moves of 10 feet or more. For an application requiring this kind of long stroke linear actuator, a belt driven rodless electromechanical actuator will be your solution.

Buyers want sturdy, well-built cars, so the quality of welds that hold auto bodies together is crucial to vehicle manufacturers.  Manufacturers want strong welds that are consistently and accurately placed so the finished car looks both durable and attractive.

Welding robots for resistance spot welding (RSW) have been a boon to auto manufacturers because they provide consistent weld placement.  But all welding robots need actuators to carry and power the weld gun. Those actuators have a huge impact on the consistent quality of welds. They can also impact the cost of robotic resistance spot welding.

Time is money, as the saying goes, and it’s especially true in manufacturing. Reduce the time a process takes and you save operating costs. The concept of total cost of ownership (TCO) considers issues beyond a component’s purchase price like the downtime and labor costs associated with changing production set-ups.

Keeping clean is important, right?  Well, in food and beverage processing and pharmaceuticals manufacturing keeping equipment clean is essential.  Cross-contamination among batches causes problems, and food or beverage residue can grow harmful microorganisms. Many plants have clean in place (CIP) systems that deliver cleaning tailored to the needs of the facility including cleaning action (force, turbulence, direction), timing/duration (when, how often, how long), temperature, and type/strength of cleaning agent.

When you design equipment for these industries you need to keep cleanability in mind.   Even components like electric linear actuators must stand up to cleaning procedures.