Automation Motor Reviews

Hydraulic power for the linear actuator is a good choice if the application requires great force to complete tasks. This might be the case if the actuator is used in the assembly process as manufacturing automation equipment that requires for some part to be pressed into another part with great force. It could also be used in a drilling operation when a drill press has been automated to drill holes in very hard surfaces. Hydraulics can be very noisy and sometimes leak hydraulic fluid, so the environment would need to be able to handle this. Beside that hydraulics are very tough and can work in very demanding environments as manufacturing automation equipment.

Linear actuators that are electrically driven, mostly by rotary motors, are usually more difficult to install and maintain, but are used in a lot of cases where there is a complex motion control application that is needs to be implemented. The conversion of power from the motor to linear is done using either a belt drive, a lead screw, a roller screw, or a ball screw in the manufacturing automation equipment. Ball screws are used in a lot of cases because they can generate a high speed with a shorter stoke of the actuator. These can be very precise in location.

Roller screws are relatively new so the cost of implementation is much higher than the cost of ball screws. Roller screws are very efficient; they have comparable speeds to the ball screws, and have a lot higher thrust and force because of their line,and not point contact on the screw flights. The lead screw is the simplest way to convert rotary power to linear power. This device is not as efficient as the ball screw or roller screw, only about half the energy is transferred to moving the load. The lead screw is the cheapest to implement. Also the motors that are set up with the lead screw can wear out sooner than other implementations if the configuration is such that the thrust is concentrated on the bearings of the motor.

Belt drives can effectively convert any turning power into straight line power. This method of conversion does not have any speed limits, and has less moving parts to wear out. Usually these converters have increased speed of movement with low wear and lower maintenance. There are always drawbacks to everything, and the belt drive does not have a good record for repeatability and therefore lower accuracy in getting the job done. Thrust of the belt drive is less, so it may not be a good choice for a robotic application.

Overall capabilities of the linear actuator allow it to be employed in many different automation applications. Usually the device can be mounted in any plane, horizontal, vertical, etc., provided spacing is sufficient. Utilizing the vertical mounting this device can be set up to drive a press machine for inserting parts at high pressure or as a punch. Precision conveyance and measuring can be performed with the actuator for operations that need to be extremely exact in positioning. Several actuators can be assembled as a group to perform multiple dependent movements for a manufacturing operation.

The characteristics of the operation to be performed will usually dictate what type of power source will need to be integrated with the selected actuator. Linear actuators have been implemented in transportation, medicine, plant automation, packaging, and other areas because of the general usefulness of the devices. If the working environment is not as clean and the need is for high force, then a hydraulic is the best choice for a linear actuator. If the environment is cleaner and speed is required, then the best choice may be a roller or lead screw actuator. With the implementation of any actuator all the characteristics of the environment and the application must be weighed together to determine what is the best linear actuator to use.