Case Studies
Member Since 2014
SMAC makes Moving Coil electric actuators. These products are the fastest actuators in the world. Cycle life is well beyond 100M. They have the ability to softly land on surfaces and then apply a programmed specific force. SMAC’s new LDL series of linear actuators has a list price of around $300 making them the first real electric actuator alternative to air cylinders. This price is based on SMAC’s contstent cost down program featuring pointed coils, in-house manufactured encoders, and laser cut parts. SMAC invented the Linear Rotary actuator 25 years ago. These are widely used in Electronic Pick and Place, Quality Thread Check, Bottle Capping, and beginning to find wide use in Automatic Screw Driving and SMART Drilling and Tapping. Interestingly a number of companies are making an effort to copy SMAC - but are not able to match technology or price. SMAC also has stepped up its efforts in inspection by launching the MLA series - a direct challenge to old tech LVDT devices.
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Solenoid Mechanical and Electrical Testing with SMAC
POSTED 08/29/2019
While we all dream and work countless hours to land that giant OEM, developing a technical solution, solving their problem(s), and winning the business, but staying close to custom machine integrators is a great way to get projects, keep the orders coming in and have another pair of feet on the street looking for new applications where our SMAC technology differentiates & fits best.
A turn-key systems integrator, Diversified Engineering Concepts, specializing in real-time data acquisition & process control had a “problem”; so they designed a test station for a solenoid manufacturer providing components to Siemens for electric circuit breakers. The requirement was to functionally test and measure all major aspects of the solenoid.
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Solenoid Test Requirements |
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Product selected was SMAC’s LAL95-50 for mechanical testing/measurement powered by our LCC-11 with analog output capabilities. Adding-in an accelerometer to this mix, the solenoid could hit the SMAC probe which would slightly touch off solenoid actuation (an indication of continuity). Using this along with some clever Windows based PC assembly language, the integrator reported out these test results of the same complexity/caliber as would that of a digital storage oscilloscope. This inspection process was a 100% testing requirement, so the value of SMAC’s complete motion programmability of force, position, speed, including soft-land and feedback was a perfect fit and recognized by the integrator as the best solution. Direct feedback from our integrator, “I had a tough time letting this project leave my shop; it was too fun!”. “Your voice coil actuators are an interesting animal, already looking for another application”.
It is amazing when you share our unique technology with an integrator, how intrigued they are on the value proposition. Equally as interesting is how they go back in their company history and think of all the projects/problems they solved, the challenges/difficulties they had, and how if they only would have known about SMAC earlier, how many headaches they could have prevented. If you haven’t shared our technology yet with your favorite integrators, and are waiting for them to approach you with a problem, you are not working your sales process correctly and you are doing them a dis-service.