An electric linear stepper motor system needs a motor. Unlike pneumatic cylinders that are powered by a central air compressor, electric linear actuators are powered by electric motors. The mechanisms in the actuator convert the motor’s rotary motion into linear motion.

Machine designers can choose either servo or stepper motors for their electric linear actuator applications. We’ve laid out the full story of the pros and cons of each of these options in our white paper, Choosing stepper- or servo-driven actuators to replace air cylinders. You can download a copy here.

Our solutions

Tolomatic offers both servo and stepper controllers, drivers and motors that are especially designed for linear motion applications.  Our new ACSI integrated servo motor/drive/controller provides flexible, easy to use, integrated servo motion control.

The ACSI integrated servo motor is a cost-effective solution for automating additional axes of motion. It creates a space-saving machine design by eliminating a drive in a cabinet. The ACSI can be controlled with simple digital I/O or analog input and is available in both linear and rotary operating modes.

With built-in configurations for all Tolomatic electric actuators, the ACSI integrated servo motor/analog stepper driver/controller creates linear motion quickly and easily in the desired linear units. When ordered with a Tolomatic actuator, the ACSI is mounted to the actuator, configured and tested as a system. The ACSI is available in industrial Ethernet protocols, including EtherNet/IP, PROFINET and Modbus TCP.