High Temperature Linear Actuator

[som1973]

Hi All,
I am looking for High Temperature Linear Actuator for Conveyor Oven Belt Tracking system.

The linear Actuator should withstand a temperature of 250-300 deg Centigrade or 480 deg F to 575 deg F

Can anyone help me to find suitable linear Actuator manufacturer for High Temperature Applications.

Thanks in Advance.

 

[MikeHalloran]

Move the actuator outside the oven, and extend its reach with a pushrod. That allows you to use a generic actuator, and positions it so you don't have to take the oven apart to service the actuator, or risk contaminating whatever product is in the oven when the actuator fails.




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[asimpson]

Cant think of HT linear actuator. Most drives hate elevated temperatures.

Probably have to make up your own.

As MikeHalloran said put the drive outside hot zone and feed-through. Could use similar to coveyor chain or belt and high temperature bearings or bushings. Limit sensors may have to be outside on drive like cam or encoder.

 

[dvd]

Graphalloy makes high-temp cam followers (

http://www.graphalloy.com/html/cam_followers.html)

that could be incorporated into a linear slide. You've still got to pass through the oven wall and locate a screw or ball actuator in the cooler air.

 

[som1973]

Thanks All,
I checked with vendors, & found electric linear actuators are suitable only for 60-80(Max)deg centigrade.

 

[Actuators1]

Have you tried ATI Actuators? We have high temperature actuators suitable for service up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

http://www.atiactuators.com

 

[Actuators1]

My apologies I misread your temperature requirements. I doubt anyone can achieve your 480-575 temperature range. All of our units are intended for severe service. Most actuators are unable to operate at such elevated temperatures, simply because of the operating range limit of the internal polymer seals.

As MikHalloran said: move it outside of your elevated temp area and call it a day.

 

[rmw]

Two companies that I am familiar with that do actuators for boiler environments are Jordan Controls now part of Rotorq and Harold Beck & Sons. But I don't think that their equipment goes anywhere that high in capability. Those temperatures give trouble with all the soft parts, the electronics and the lubricants. That sounds like 3 strikes to me.

rmw

 

[imagitec]

It's difficult to answer with limited information. A couple of more questions then some broad suggestions.

Is the oven open (conveyor passes through at a steady rate) or closed (conveyor moves the parts in, door is closed, conveyor moves the parts out)?

If closed, is it vacuum, atmosphere, or overpressure?

It's unlikely you'll find an actuator that will just run at 250-300 C. But if that is the maximum temperature in the oven (heating by convection if in atmosphere, by radiation if relatively high vacuum), one could engineer a solution that uses an off-the-shelf actuator as a starting point. It would involve some combination of radiation shielding, thermal isolation, and active cooling (forced air, water).

As Mike Halloran noted, moving the actuator outside of the oven is a nice solution if possible. If the atmosphere inside the oven is controlled (some level of pressure or vacuum and/or precise mixture), there are a number of options to transmit linear or rotary motion between the two sides of the seal:

- Glyd ring or similar low friction sliding seal (linear or rotaty motion; reciprocating or continuous; least expensive by far)

- Ferrofluidic seal (linear or rotary motion; reciprocating or continuous; much more expensive than glyd rings)

- Metal bellows (reciprocating linear; cost depends on stroke; most robust from a sealing perspective)

Motion involving high temperatures, vacuum, and or high purity is a challenging but fun problem to solve. I've encountered it more than once in semiconductor manufacturing equipment, flame reactors, and furnaces.

Rob Campbell
Imagitec: Imagination - Expertise - Execution