The use of electric actuators in mobile machinery applications is steadily increasing. These actuators are being employed in more applications — examples of which can be seen in this media gallery — as original equipment manufacturers (OEM) realize their performance benefits.
Automation and electrification are helping drive uptake of electric actuators, also referred to as electromechanical actuators (EMA), because of the precise motion control and efficient operation they can provide.
Applications requiring leak-free operation, such as data centers and turf care, are also gravitating toward use of electric actuators noted Mark Haughey, Off-Road Industry Manager at Schaeffler, in an interview with Power & Motion.
“Manufacturers of aerial work platforms (AWPs) and scissor lifts have a strong interest in electric actuators for clean environments such as warehouses and data centers,” he said. “Commercial turf care equipment providers are also eliminating hydraulics to protect lawn surfaces such as the greens on golf courses.”
Unlike their hydraulic alternatives, EMA do not have fluid which can leak and cause safety concerns for the people and environment around a machine.
Auxiliary functions such as side mirrors and hood lifts are some of the best use cases Haughey currently sees for electric actuators in mobile off-highway equipment applications.
Electric Actuators Replacing Fluid Power in Some Applications
Violet Urban, Strategic Marketing Manager – Americas, Linear Motion Division, Thomson Industries, is also seeing an uptick in use of EMA, particularly in the agricultural equipment industry. The improved efficiency, reduced maintenance, and enhanced safety these actuators can provide are among the reasons she sees their use increasing.
In terms of replacing fluid power technologies, Urban said electric actuators are now routinely handling loads exceeding 25 kN and steadily extending into applications once reserved for hydraulic or pneumatic cylinders. “Tasks such as lifting or lowering medium-to-large size agricultural robots and steering large aerial lifts are increasingly benefiting from the controllability, precision, cleanliness and low maintenance of electromechanical actuation,” she said.
Urban said Thomson Industries is also seeing the emergence of electro-hydraulic actuators, like the company’s H-Track technology, “which integrate hydraulic technology to achieve higher load capacity and improved shock resistance.”
The H-Track electro-hydraulic actuators integrate a self-contained hydraulic pump within a compact electromechanical form factor, she explained. Motorized internal pumps deliver hydraulic fluid only where needed, eliminating the requirement for sprawling centralized hydraulic systems.
“Electric and fluid-powered technologies are working side by side in other areas as well,” she said. “The bucket of a wheel loader may still need hydraulic cylinders powered by an external pump system, for example. But secondary functions, such as raising and lowering a large tractor hood for maintenance, are increasingly handled by actuators that do not require keeping the engine running. If the engine stalls in a remote location and needs maintenance, electrically powered actuators will open and close the hood with the push of a button.
Gain more insights into the use of electric actuators in mobile applications from our interviews with Urban, Haughey and Keller in the article “The State of Electric Actuators in Mobile Applications.”
“Going one step further, electromechanical systems are incorporating sensors that can provide position feedback as well, helping monitor the performance of the entire system, electric and fluid driven, enabling predictive maintenance that reduces downtime,” said Urban.
If implementing automated functions on a machine, like grade control, EMA offers a good option because it already has the necessary closed-loop control built into it, said Nate Keller, Ph.D., Business Development Manager, Moog Construction. With hydraulics, you would likely need additional hardware, including sensors.
With EMA, there is already very high precision control built into the actuator, “so you can get a lot of that automation already,” said Keller.
In many mobile applications, especially large machinery, fluid power technologies will still be required due to the power density provided. But electric actuators are proving to be a viable option in some applications, offering OEMs options to help meet their varied performance requirements.
Flip through the media gallery above to see examples of the various ways electric actuators can be used in mobile off-highway equipment applications.
About the Author
Sara Jensen
Executive Editor, Power & Motion
Sara Jensen is executive editor of Power & Motion, directing expanded coverage into the modern fluid power space, as well as mechatronic and smart technologies. She has over 15 years of publishing experience. Prior to Power & Motion she spent 11 years with a trade publication for engineers of heavy-duty equipment, the last 3 of which were as the editor and brand lead. Over the course of her time in the B2B industry, Sara has gained an extensive knowledge of various heavy-duty equipment industries — including construction, agriculture, mining and on-road trucks —along with the systems and market trends which impact them such as fluid power and electronic motion control technologies.
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