Examples of pneumatic (left) and electronic actuators from Bimba Manufacturing Company. The question of whether it’s better to use pneumatic or electric actuators as part of your system design or to ...

Big, innovative breakthroughs often result in game-changing technologies. Smaller incremental improvements in essential material components can similarly lead to significant performance and efficiency ...

Electric rod-actuators are replacing fluid power actuators for many high-force applications throughout industry. Tasks once limited to hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders such as pressing, holding, ...

A polymer is a large molecule made up of repeating units (called monomers), linked together by a long chain. Due to their interesting properties, polymers are used in various applications, such as ...

The quest to replicate the flexibility, controllability, and dexterity of human muscles and associated limbs has inspired some truly “non-obvious” but highly workable actuator concepts. For example, ...

Adaptive soft matter, such as responsive gels, elastomers, shape memory and electro-active polymers, is attracting burgeoning interest in material science ...

Moving a load in a straight line can be done using a variety of linear actuator devices employing both rod and rodless technologies. For rod-style actuation requiring lower amounts of force ...