Cleanliness, Cushioning, And Kits Lead Pneumatic-actuator Trends

There have been a lot of changes to pneumatic actuators over the last decade. Jerry Scherzinger, Product Marketing Manager-Pneumatics, Bimba, noted that changes in load bearing components, such as bearings, have allowed manufacturers to incorporate more advanced materials into their products.

“Then the products weigh less, provide higher levels of accuracy and control costs,” he said. “One of the beauties of pneumatics is its ability to manage complex applications with combinations of relatively simple components, each of which can serve as a great starting point for enabling design engineers to develop more intricate devices for complex solutions.”

Michael Guelker, Festo Corp.’s Product Manager explained that CAD and advanced finite element analysis software tools are now used to design cylinder components like extrusions, end caps, seals and elastomeric bumpers.

“This provides very rigid and robust extrusions and end caps which are lightweight and cost less to manufacture, seals that last longer and have less leakage, and bumpers which can absorb greater impact energy,” he said.

Jerry Walling, Marketing and Business Development for Fabco-Air Inc., noted that pneumatic actuators are selected by their ability to perform a specific function—and those functions are literally endless. He said that the development of custom air actuators can often be both expensive and time consuming, but may be the only solution for unique applications.

“In order to properly specify an air actuator for any application, it requires that two main questions be answered before moving into the heart of the design. The first question is: what do I need the cylinder to do (what type of work will it be performing)? The second is: what types of cylinders do I have to select from? If the ideal actuator is not found via the host of standard offerings, then a custom actuator might be the only solution!” Walling said.

Two industries that are pushing the technology forward are packaging and food and beverage. Walling said that the packaging industry has been a catalyst for innovations and seems to have put a major emphasis on designing more aesthetically pleasing equipment. And because air cylinders are typically visible on most packaging equipment, modern designs tend to be prevalent.

“Many felt as if the pneumatic actuator market would have taken a major blow because of the increased popularity of electric actuators,” said Walling. “Because the initial cost of a pneumatic actuator is significantly less than electric actuators, most industries still try first to fill their motion control application pneumatically. Furthermore, due to the fact that air cylinders can operate without electricity, there is no chance of spark generation. This makes pneumatic actuators still ideal for hazardous environment use, i.e., petrochemical applications.”