Industrial Automation Trends Drive Ball Screw Actuator Innovation

As more manufacturers add automation and robotics into their production lines, the use of linear electric actuators is growing. While ball screw actuators have always been a popular style for these applications as they are robust and precise enough for industrial applications, recent innovations in ball screw linear actuators, such as higher load capacities, miniaturization and longer service life, are making them more useful than ever. 

This blog will introduce readers to ball screw linear actuator operating technology and share the latest developments in linear actuator design that encourage the use of ball screw actuators in an ever-growing list of applications. 

Generally speaking, actuators enable physical movement by converting energy – either electric, pneumatic or hydraulic – into a mechanical force that drives and/or controls motion in the machine, device or equipment in which it is placed. 

Linear actuators, therefore, are motion control components that permit linear or straight/side-to-side motion in applications ranging from industrial robots and automated production machinery to 3D printers to delicate electronics and medical equipment. Like other actuators, linear actuators may be powered via electricity, air or fluid to achieve the desired movement. 

However, when precision, strength and efficiency are needed, linear electric actuators are often the technology of choice as they provide all of these characteristics. In an electric actuator, the actuator control system signals the electric motor to create a force, which is then applied to the component that needs to be moved. Linear electric actuators are very precise in their movements as they rely on a feedback mechanism to accurately and repeatedly achieve the correct position. 

While there are several types of linear electric actuators available, electric ball screw linear actuators are known to be very reliable in critical applications. Ball screw actuators feature recirculating ball bearings that travel along a threaded shaft with very little friction, allowing the ball screw to provide precise motion and accommodate heavy loads. The assembly serves as a nut that travels along the raceway on the shaft, converting rotary motion into linear motion. 

The design of ball screw linear actuators provides robustness, rigidity, precision and high speeds. And, because there is very little friction, electric ball screw linear actuators are among the most efficient linear actuators available – typically over 90% efficient – while also providing high thrust and long service life. 

Industrial Automation Trends Drive New Linear Actuator Designs 

While ball screw linear actuators have been used in industrial machinery for quite some time, the desire to use electric ball screw actuators in applications such as smaller, more precise robotics and medical devices, as well as applications that demand higher speeds and greater efficiency, such as 3D printers and sustainability-based innovations such as wind turbines and solar panels, are driving developers to design electric ball screw linear actuators that are smaller, yet capable of carrying heavy loads with less friction, enhanced reliability and significantly longer service life. 

Actuator Advancement Push Electronification

Advancements in motors and linear actuators have driven a significant shift from hydraulic to electrical systems across various industries. Modern electric motors, like servo and stepper motors, offer precise control over position, speed, and torque, while linear actuators provide accurate movement and positioning. This precision, coupled with greater energy efficiency, makes electric systems more attractive, as they only consume power when active, unlike hydraulic systems that suffer from energy losses and require constant pump operation. Additionally, electric systems demand less maintenance, with fewer moving parts and no fluid leaks, enhancing reliability and reducing long-term costs. Their compact size and lighter weight are advantageous in space-constrained applications, and the ease of integration with digital control systems allows for advanced automation and real-time monitoring. Moreover, electric systems are quieter and have a lower environmental impact, making them cleaner and more sustainable. While hydraulic systems still have their place, especially in applications requiring very high force, the overall benefits of electric actuators and motors—precision, efficiency, reliability, and integration—are leading more industries to make the switch. 

3 Recent Advances in Ball Screw Actuators

Here, we look at three advances in ball screw actuators that allow them to find use in demanding motion control applications.

• Miniaturization: As devices and machinery continue to be housed in smaller packages, yet still require highly precise movement, linear actuator designs are rising to the challenge. For example, ball screw splines are becoming smaller, yet more rigid due to an array of spline nut, shaft, spline groove and bearing options, allowing ball screw linear actuators to become more rigid so they may drive axes on industrial equipment and robotics that demand highly accurate motion and positioning in more compact sizes. In addition, some ball screw linear actuator designs offer a variety of features, including caged balls, different end plate designs or newer circulation methods that result in a more compact package, as well as faster ball screws, to provide miniaturization, precision and higher speeds for applications such as electronics, solar panels and medical devices. 
• Higher load capacities: Meanwhile, many industrial motion control applications require higher load capacities and longer service life, so high-load ball screws with new thread designs have been developed to provide greater load capacity and enhanced robustness for applications such as in robots used in harsh food processing environments or wind turbines. Other designs optimize the ball track to offer greater load capacities than standard ball screw actuators and allowing these recently developed ball screw actuators to provide extended service in difficult industrial applications or harsh environments, such injection molding or fabrication equipment. 
• Customization: Advanced manufacturing processes and techniques are allowing customization of ball screw linear actuators so that motion control designers can pick and choose the features that are the most useful for their application requirements. Choices might include different combinations of nut and screw to increase accuracy or repeatability, different sizes to accommodate application envelope requirements or different manufacturing techniques to provide ball nuts that enhance precision. 

As motion control designers continue to demand smaller and more robust ball screw actuators for applications such as 3D printers and medical devices, as well as linear electric actuators with higher load capacities and longer service life for industrial equipment and robotics – or any combination of these things – innovations in ball screw manufacturing techniques, designs and materials will continue to make it possible. To find out if an innovative ball screw linear actuator is right for your application, please contact Accu Tech USA, a Tavoron company, today.