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Simple actuators save time and money

An Inmoco product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Aug 22, 2007

Inmoco Exlar Tritex acuators combine a brushless servomotor, servo amplifier and position controller in a single industrial grade enclosure.

Inmoco's Exlar Tritex series of actuators provide a simple and low-cost electrical alternative to fluid power actuators, and to electric drive systems employing ball screw or gear reducer mechanisms.

They combine a brushless servomotor, servo amplifier and position controller in a single industrial grade enclosure.

This integration overcomes the cost and complexity of a systems engineering approach, as all elements for producing linear motion have been properly matched and designed into the actuator and tested for their efficiency.

Tritex actuators provide an all-electric actuator solution for moving and/or positioning mechanical devices in a large variety of industrial or military grade applications.

They eliminate the requirement for pneumatic and hydraulic cylinders, offering instead a cleaner more integrated unit that is easier to install and use, and one that provides improved positional performance and reduced cycle times.

The integrated three-in-one design of the Tritex series of electric actuators eliminates both the external servo amplifier and the expensive and failure prone cables associated with a typical servo system.

In addition, the Tritex design means that ball screw mechanisms, and separately mounted gear reducers are also a thing of the past, because rotary to linear convertors or mechanical reducers are designed in.

As a result, the time spent on component selection, design and installation is saved, and the panel space for a separately mounted amplifier - and its complex wiring - is not required.

There is also no need for trouble-shooting and debugging of components such as gear reducers, couplings and rotary-to-linear convertor mechanisms.

Tritex linear actuators employ Exlar's inverted roller screw mechanism for converting the rotational motion generated within the Tritex actuator.

The large contact area of the roller screw - the result of using rollers rather than balls - allows high force characteristics while guaranteeing long life.

It is common for the unit to last 15 times longer than comparably sized ball screws, even in the most demanding repetitive applications.

In addition, the planetary design of the roller screw allows it to be accelerated and rotated faster (up to 5000rev/min) than comparably sized ball screws.

The Tritex actuators operate in one of five different motion producing modes, satisfying a wide range of applications in industrial automation, medical equipment, fastening and joining, blow moulding, injection moulding, testing and food processing.

The modes include: move to a position (or switch); move to a preset force or torque; position proportional to an analogue signal; velocity proportional to an analogue signal; and force/torque proportional to analogue signal.

Programmed functions for a particular motion application, product configurations and motion parameters are all stored in the Tritex nonvolatile memory.

An RS/485 series interface allows control, programming and monitoring of all aspects of the actuator as it performs an application.

The Tritex actuators are available in stroke lengths from 75 to 455mm, providing maximum continuous thrust capacities of up to 5560N.

They are rated for operation at 24 and 48V DC; are available with many different types of mountings and offer IP54 levels of ingress protection.