The invention of the rodless cylinder over 30 years ago by Origa opened up opportunities for long stroke pneumatic actuation that previously had been impossible. Developed originally for applications in the paper industry where long, unsupported strokes in contaminated and space restricted areas were a requirement, the benefits of Rodless cylinder technology was soon to be recognised throughout industry in mechanical handling, packaging and process applications.
Development of aluminium extrusion technology enabled sufficiently accurate barrel lengths to be produced for strokes in excess of 10m. The main problem was sealing the air into the barrel. Origa chose to develop a stainless steel sealing band system, whilst most competitors began to adopt various forms of plastic seals.
Although difficult to manufacture and requiring excellent barrel tolerances, stainless steel seals, due to their low friction and minimal lubrication requirements, offer a number of significant advantages over plastic seal technology…
•Wide speed range: <10mm/s to >32m/s enabling applications from component feeds to flying knives.
•Long Life: With advertised service intervals of 8000km, practical experience and customer feedback indicated maintenance free operation in excess of 50 000km
•Long Stroke: Held in place by magnets the seals work effectively even on strokes up to 40m
•Contamination resistance: Minimal lubrication levels reduced contamination build up around the enabling area, enabling extended operation in dusty and contaminated conditions
•Vacuum Seal: With minimal lubrication between the inner and outer seals, it also became possible to draw a partial vacuum enabling clean room certification as an option.
•ATEX Gas and Dust: Again the nature of the seal performance has made compliance with both these standard possible.
Plastic seals, although more limited in terms of life, stroke, speed range and operating environment, do themselves, offer advantages..
•Exceptionally low leakage rate: Significant in many mobile applications
•Low Temperature Range: Again mobile applications are demanding temperature -30C and below, which are outside the normal range of stainless steel seals.
By adopting both these technologies it allows Parker –Origa to not only meet the demands of industrial and transportation applications, but transfer the knowledge and expertise gained in each sector as they develop products for the future.