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All-electric actuators ‘out-perform hydraulics’
Published:  15 May, 2018

A US company has developed a maintenance-free electromechnical linear actuator technology that, it claims, offers higher power densities and better reliability than rollerscrew or hydraulic technologies. Massachusetts-based Rise Robotics says that its Rise Cylinder actuators can replace hydraulic systems of all sizes, resulting in quieter, more efficient, all-electric machines.

A 95mm-diameter version with a 1.2m stroke length, for example, can deliver a force of 9.5kN and a maximum speed of 0.8m/s, with a service life of 1,120km. The actuators are available in diameters up to 650mm, providing thrust loads of up to 450kN and speeds of up to 1m/s for millions of maintenance-free cycles.

The actuators do not need any fluid, pumps or lubrication, and can operate maintenance-free for millions of operating cycles. Rise says that they can be built in sizes that would be impossible for rollerscrews and other linear actuator technologies, leading to powerful all-electric lifting machines.

For special applications, the cylinders can be fabricated in versions with strokes of around 20m. Unlike rollerscrews, they are not constrained by screw-related limitations.

Rise Robotics' maintenance-free actuators offer high power densities

Rise Robotics was founded in 2011 with the aim of developing high-performance exo-suits. It developed the linear actuators as part of this programme. It is now working with partners to take the technology to the market.