From the traditional point of view, cylinder and electric actuator have been regarded as two completely different fields of automation products, but in recent years, with the continuous improvement of electrification, electric actuator has gradually immersed in the field of pneumatic, both of which are competitive and complementary in application. In this column, we will compare the advantages of air cylinder actuator and electric actuator in terms of technical performance, purchase and application cost, energy efficiency, application situation and market situation.

As we all know, compared with electric actuators, the air cylinder actuator can work reliably under harsh conditions, and the operation is simple, and can basically achieve maintenance-free. Cylinders are good at reciprocating linear motion, especially suitable for the most important transmission requirement in industrial automation - the linear handling of workpieces. Moreover, only adjusting the one-way throttle valve installed on both sides of the cylinder can simply achieve stable speed control, which has become the biggest feature and advantage of the cylinder drive system. Therefore, for users without multi-point positioning requirements, most of them prefer to use cylinders from the perspective of convenience. At present, the application of electric actuators in industrial field mostly requires high precision multi-point positioning, which is due to the difficulty of using China air cylinder actuator to achieve the second result.

Electric actuators are mainly used in rotating and swing conditions. Its advantage lies in fast response time and accurate control of speed, position and moment by feedback system. However, when linear motion is needed, transmission transformation is needed through gear belt or screw, so the structure is relatively complex, and the professional knowledge of the working environment and operation and maintenance personnel is highly demanded.

Advantages of Cylinder

(1) Lower requirements for users. The principle and structure of the China air cylinder actuator are simple, easy to install and maintain, and the requirements for users are not high. Cylinders are different, engineers must have certain electrical knowledge, otherwise they are likely to be damaged by misoperation.

(2) Large output force. The output force of air cylinder actuator is proportional to the square of cylinder diameter, while the output force of cylinder is related to three factors: cylinder diameter, motor power and screw pitch, the larger the cylinder diameter and power, and the smaller the pitch, the greater the output force. A cylinder with a diameter of 50mm can theoretically output up to 2000N. For cylinders with the same diameter, although the products of different companies are different, they are basically not more than 1000N. Obviously, the cylinder has more advantages in output force.

(3) Strong adaptability. China air cylinder actuator can work normally in high and low temperature environment, and has the ability of dust-proof and waterproof, and can adapt to various harsh environments. Because of the large number of electrical components, the electric cylinder has higher requirements for the environment and poor adaptability.