If you want to learn how actuator housings are designed according to the performance of an actuator, and what features are added to ensure the ingress protection and quality of a LINAK industrial actuator, our man, Hunter Stephenson, explains the essentials in this video.
Actuator housings are typically made of either plastic or aluminum. Actuators with plastic housings are suitable for a wide range of applications, though mainly indoor ones. Aluminum housings help protect an actuator from harsh environments such as fluctuating temperatures, chemicals as well as the effects of high forces and vibrations.
The design of actuator housings is highly influential when it comes to the endurance of actuators. For example, the back fixture can either be welded as part of the housing itself, or be a separate stainless steel back fixture attached to the housing.
In either of these cases, the push/pull forces created when moving a load will travel differently through the actuator and its housing. Actuators handling higher loads are usually designed with a separate back fixture to ensure that the housing is not directly exposed to the force. Higher loads in combination with vibrations can damage the housing and reduce the actuator’s ingress protection.
Actuators made for operation in harsh environments, for example, high or low temperatures, corroding chemicals, or vibrations, must therefore be designed accordingly. LINAK industrial actuators include several features that help ensure their durability and the highest possible Ingress Protection rating (IP69K): aluminum housings, coated PCBs to protect the electronics, polished inner tubes to reduce the moisture ingress, specially selected cork sealings for harsh environments and dust explosive environments (ATEX and IECEx).
Finally, the surface of aluminum housings for LINAK industrial actuators is resistant to corrosion, and cables are easily exchanged without compromising the actuator’s IP rating. In certain cases, where an actuator is in touch with extremely corrosive materials or vapors, such as fertilizers and ammonia, it is recommended to choose an anodized housing, as it comes with a special coating.
For any questions about housings for industrial electric linear actuators, please feel free to contact your local LINAK office.
