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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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Moving Coil Actuator Reaches Over 2 Billion Cycles
POSTED 05/24/2018
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA – A user of SMAC Moving Coil Actuators has reached over 2 billion cycles, marking a new record for the devices. The units in question were built over 20 years ago and, while they recently needed some minor maintenance, they are expected to last several more decades. An SMAC company spokesman is quoted as saying, “There is no way of knowing how long these SMAC actuators will last. We haven’t yet lived that long!”
One of the key reasons for such high cycle life is the patented SMAC “Soft-Land” feature. Soft-Land is a patented unique routine which allows the actuator rod or gripper jaw to land on the surface of a component with a low programmed force. It gives extremely accurate sensing of product location or dimensions. This is particularly useful for handling delicate or high value components but a side effect of the Soft-Land routine is that SMAC actuators are less susceptible to wear over time, allowing for remarkably long life.
The routine consists of a controlled low force approach in velocity mode, while the position error is constantly monitored. Once contact is made the position error builds up until a pre-programmed figure is reached - resulting in the rod maintaining position on the surface of the component.
Many manufacturers have adopted programmable electric actuators, like SMAC Moving Coil Actuators, for its high speed, high precision, and flexible programming. SMAC electric actuators have programmable velocity, position and force, and the ability to give feedback on the work being done, while it is done.
For more information, please visit www.smac-mca.com