12 Volt Linear Electric Actuators: Powerful, Reliable And Easy To Maintain
A 12 volt linear electric actuator is (relative to its low voltage demands) a high powered device which, in contrast to a simple electric motor, is capable of applying force in a linear fashion. There are a variety of methods by which this linear motion can be achieved, the strongest of which involve the conversion of rotational motion (of the type produced by Michael Faraday’s original homopolar electric rotary motor in 1821) into linear motion.
A mechanical type of actuator of this nature is the common carjack or jackscrew – the spinning of the jack’s handle, by means of screws and gears, is converted into linear displacement. In the case of electromechanical actuators, the control knob or handle of the device is replaced with an electric motor. While just about every company that makes 12 volt linear electric actuators has its own proprietary method for constructing them, a simple outline of the functioning of a rotary-to-linear converting actuator is as outlined below.
First off, some rotary driver, such as an electrical motor, is connected up mechanically so as to transfer its rotational motion to a lead screw. This lead screw will have a helical thread, similar to the thread on a normal bolt or screw, machined onto its circumference for its entire length. On the lead screw you’ll normally find a lead nut, with matching threads, fixed so as to be prevented from rotating with the screw (by, for instance, being attached to a rod which is in turn affixed to a rail running along the inside of the device’s housing). Thus, whenever the screw is rotated, the attached nut will be driven along the threads in accord with the direction of the screw’s rotation. By means of linkages connected to the nut (in, for instance, the manner described above) this motion can be transmitted to any other armature or assembly.
12 volt linear electric actuators of this nature play a crucial part in many vital technologies. One, for instance, is the functioning of aircraft flaps. Actuators are used to extend and withdraw these hinged flaps on the horizontal plane . When extended, aircraft flaps can be used to diminish the stalling speed of a plane, so that it can safely fly at speeds that would normally be unfeasible by reasons of insufficient camber of the wing airfoil. By increasing the camber, one can raise the maximum lift coefficient at a given speed without changing any other factors. Similarly, 12 volt linear actuators are used to deploy the solar flaps on satellites, and the fact that they use such a small amount of power, given the obvious scarcity of power resources for a machine floating in space, is a thing of enormous benefit.
12 volt linear electric actuators also play a similarly elementary role in many heavy industries, and competition for supplying these industries is and pretty much always has been a much-contested area of the market. Warner Linear is known as a solid manufacturer of electromechanical actuators and electric rotary motors capable of functioning in rugged, tough conditions, including those encountered in industries such as transportation, heavy industry, marine industry, agriculture and materials manufacturing.
Warner Linear also produces a well-regarded range of actuator controls dynamic enough to be adapted to most application needs. These included controls ranging from all your basic extension and retraction functions, to microprocessors with sophisticated digital user interfaces.
