 |
Charlotte Stonestreet
Managing Editor |
Fluidic muscles
14 August 2014
Firmac designs and manufactures high quality metal duct forming equipment and HVAC machinery. The company's latest machine, which manufactures galvanised and stainless steel H&V ducting for a client in Switzerland, incorporates Thorite-supplied Fluidic Muscle technology to replace mechanical cylinders, providing fast and accurate activation of tensioning clamps.
Manufactured by Festo, the DMSP Fluidic Muscles are powered by compressed air and provide outstanding performance. Their single-acting pulling action is completely free from stick or slip effects and features acceleration values of up to 100m/s² and speeds up to 3m/s.
In the new Firmac machine the fluidic muscles are used to position the tensioning clamps relative to the varying steel coil widths and profiles used to form the ducting, instantly positioning sliding blocks to grip the steel.
Each fluidic muscle generates 10 times the force of a mechanical cylinder of the same diameter and because the unit has no piston rod and dynamic seals it is ideal for use in very aggressive working environments.
By proportionally varying the operating pressure the units can act in the same manner as a human muscle, with a stroke length of approximately 10% of its unpressured length, hence the cylinder's name.
- Record turnover at Thorite
- Work starts on new Thorite UK headquarters
- Aftermarket solutions package
- Transferable clean-air systems
- Batching control system
- Pneumatic products
- Total fluid & air solutions
- Thorite scoops Festo UK Distributor of the Year award
- Mechatronics & hydraulics courses
- Energy efficient equipment
- No related articles listed
