Pneumatic actuator: Customizable unit handles large loads in small strokes

摘要

Perhaps the idea came from those "jumping frog" prizes U at carnivals, in which a toy plastic frog is spurred into action by a small rubber balloon mounted underneath, filled and emptied via a squeeze bulb at the end of some tubing. At this year's IMTS trade show, Firestone Industrial Products Co., Carmel, IN, introduced their Airomatic poly actuators. They say the name Airomatic was chosen to reflect an engineering term describing the distinctive quality of an organic compound characterized by an increased chemical stability. In other words, the new actuator is tough and sturdy. Life tests show it can withstand more than 5.7 million cycles. The polyactuator is fabricated from molded plastic elements welded together into a sealed unit and are designed to last for millions of cycles without product failure or performance degradation. The device can be custom built to meet specific sizes and shapes for a wide variety of applications. Inflated, the actuator is capable of strokes up to 0.5 in., and can withstand loads up to 100 lbs at 35 psig. The company's smallest units require a minimum of just 0.6 in. clearance.