Rigidity in a linear actuator.

Thomson Industries has released an educational video that provides design engineers with best practice tips on how to increase the rigidity of a linear actuator.

Chad Carlberg

“Linear actuators are designed to handle loads axially,” said Chad Carlberg, Product Line Specialist for Linear Actuators at Thomson. “One of the most common failure modes of linear actuators is side loading.” This occurs when a force exists that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation.

In the video, Carlberg describes how stroke length can affect design: “The longer the stroke length, the more susceptible an actuator is to binding or bending of the screw.” He goes on to explain how to increase the rigidity in an actuator: “A nut guide can be added for additional load support, and a design engineer could increase the ball screw diameter to add rigidity to the linear actuator.”

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