What You Missed At IMTS

At this year’s IMTS, Rollon’s Bob Ward gave a presentation entitle: How to Specify & Size Electromechanical Linear Actuators.

The presentation explained that despite the performance improvement of control electronics and algorithms over the past decade or so to help mask deficiencies in linear actuator selection and application, it is still incumbent on the automation engineer to try to identify and provide the right set of parameters to better assure project success.

To that end, the mnemonic A.C.T.U.A.T.O.R. has been created by Rollon to aid and assist the system designer to remember to check for the minimum basic set of specifications to define a linear actuator. The mostly quantitative values that A.C.T.U.A.T.O.R. develops are independent of the primary motive force of the product and apply equally as well to conventional industrial hydraulic, pneumatic or electric linear actuators.