#SPS14 Linear actuators meet tough hygienic requirements #PAuto

Turnkey drives from Kollmorgen shut the door on germs

New electrical linear actuators increase design freedom for hygienic machinery.

For precise linear motion in environments with stringent hygienic requirements, Kollmorgen combines its stainless steel servo motors from the AKMH series with stainless steel actuators. These turnkey drives with IP69K intrusion rating provide the thrust density and overload capability needed for lifting and shaping applications in the packaging, food and pharmaceutical industries. They cover the feed thrust range from 0.89 to 20 kN in four package sizes, with a feed rate of 1 m/s. Kollmorgen is unveiling this innovation at the SPS IPC Drives trade show in Nuremberg at Stand 230 in Hall 3a.

Linear drives with electric motors have better control characteristics than comparable pneumatic drives, are more energy efficient and quieter in operation, and have longer service life. These mechatronic units thus make a significant contribution to overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) and help improve energy efficiency. This is also reflected in distinctly shorter cleaning times thanks to the easily cleaned surfaces of the linear drives, with no need for additional protective housings.

Kollmorgen supplies the new linear actuators with single-cable technology for connection to central or local servo controllers. This cuts the space and time necessary for installation in half. For feedback Kollmorgen uses the SFD3 digital resolver or the DSL encoder. For even greater design freedom in machine construction, the stainless steel linear drives are available in two models to suit the space constraints of the machine. They differ in the connection between the AKMH servo motor and the linear actuator: either inline or reverse-parallel.