Designed to replace conventional pneumatic cylinders, ELECYLINDERS offer precise control, reduced cycle times, and enhanced reliability. With their direct control of acceleration and velocity, ELECYLINDERS ensure smoother, faster, and more accurate movements that pneumatic cylinders could never match. Whether in manufacturing, assembly, or any other form of automation, IAI’s ELECYLINDERS are the perfect fit for your applications.
IAI’s ELECYLINDERS vs Pneumatics
Topic of Comparision
Basic Pneumatics
Advanced Pneumatics
IAI’s ELECYLINDERS
Motion Control
No control over motion parameters, leading to less precise operations.
Some basic control over motion parameters.
Can directly control the acceleration, velocity, and deceleration.
Precision
Position verification only at target positions with no velocity verification, leading to imprecision and inaccuracies.
Position verification along the stroke with velocity verification requiring advanced controls.
Significantly better position verification at 1 kHz and velocity 20 kHz, ensuring proper placement and stable movement.
Jerk and Impact
Sharp changes in acceleration (jerk) cause impacts at the start and end of strokes.
Softens jerk and impact, but not erased.
Jerk and impact can be smoothed out and nearly erased because of the direct control of the AVD.
Maximum Velocity
Low effective maximum velocity to avoid strong impacts.
Slightly higher maximum velocity due to impact softening.
Highest maximum velocity of 700mm/s with little/no impact at the end of the stroke.
Response Time to Start Signal
Slow
Slow
Extremely fast
Cycle Time
Longer cycle time due to delayed response time and lower velocities.
Slightly shorter cycle time.
Significantly shorter cycle time because of the quick response and higher velocities.
Time Efficiency
Longer cycles and short stoppages reduce the time efficiency of pneumatic cylinders.
Shorter cycles and higher precision mean more cycles can be done with fewer stoppages.
Fastest cycles and highest precision mean unparalleled time efficiency.
Energy Efficiency
Constant compression and leakage of air uses considerable amounts of energy.
Constant compression and leakage of air uses considerable amounts of energy.
Energy efficiency improves with operational frequency, reducing energy usage up to 85%.
Durability/Life Expectancy
Typically rated at 3,000 miles with no serviceable parts.
Typically rated at 3,000 miles with no serviceable parts.
Life expectancy of up to about 7,500 miles, plus maintenance warnings and easily replaceable parts.
If you have any questions or are just looking for some help, we're happy to discuss your application with you. Reach out to us at (855) 737-4716 or fill out our online form.
IAI has two lines of products that are meant to replace pneumatics, the ROBO Cylinders and the ELECYLINDERS. This page shows the general differences between the two lines so you can make the best decision for your application.
If you have any questions or are just looking for some help, we're happy to discuss your application with you. Reach out to us at (855) 737-4716 or fill out our online form.
Precision and stability are no longer just desirable in many high-tech applications; they’re essential. Whether you’re in life sciences, semiconductor, metrology, or any field where dynamic focusing and ultra-fast settling times are critical, the ability to control positioning down to the nanometer level can dramatically improve your results. Enter the Parker ZFA Series: a game-changing solution that redefines what's possible in precision linear stages with advanced motion control systems.
The Value of Precision
For machinery and instrument builders, achieving nanometer-level stability is a game-changer. The Parker ZFA Series, when used with an advanced motion control system, delivers unprecedented control, ensuring that every movement is precise, every adjustment is exact, and every operation is reliable. In industries like digital pathology and Next-Generation Sequencing, where image quality can make or break an analysis, this level of precision transforms workflows and outcomes.
The Parker ZFA Series doesn’t just enhance image quality; it accelerates processes. By combining ultra-low settling times with rapid step-and-settle capabilities, the ZFA allows systems to move faster and more accurately. The result? Higher throughput, reduced downtime, and increased efficiency—all critical factors in a competitive market where every second counts.
More common servo drives do not perform as well with:
Longer Settling Times
More Over-Shoot
Lower Bandwidths
Stability Redefined
Stability is not just about standing still; it’s about standing still with purpose. The ZFA Series provides industry-leading natural frequencies that ensure stabilities on the nanometer scale, offering unmatched control even during high-speed operations. This means less vibration, more consistent results, and ultimately, a significant reduction in errors and maintenance costs.
For industries that rely on delicate measurements—like semiconductor and metrology—stability directly impacts accuracy. With the ZFA, you can trust that your instruments will maintain their positioning with unparalleled reliability, reducing the need for recalibration and minimizing downtime.
Seamless Integration for Maximum Flexibility
The Parker ZFA Series isn’t just about performance; it’s about integration. Built with the modern machinery builder in mind, the ZFA offers flexible installation options that allow it to fit seamlessly into new or existing instruments. Its compact form factor and configurable features enable you to easily adapt the positioner to your specific needs, enhancing design freedom and reducing engineering time.
Moreover, with integral carriage and base datum features, the ZFA facilitates precise alignment and effortless assembly, whether at the factory or in the field. This adaptability means you can bring cutting-edge precision to your products without complex reengineering, making it easier than ever to upgrade your systems with the latest technology.
Driving Innovation Across Industries
The impact of the Parker ZFA Series goes beyond just one industry—it’s driving innovation across multiple sectors. In life sciences, the ZFA enhances imaging systems, reducing cycle times and improving image resolution, ultimately advancing research and diagnostics. In the semiconductor industry, it provides the stability and accuracy needed for high-stakes measurement tasks, ensuring consistent performance.
But the benefits don’t stop there. The ZFA’s robust design and superior encoder technology make it a versatile solution for any application that demands high precision and reliability. From digital imaging to dynamic inspection systems, the ZFA’s capabilities empower engineers to push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Key Features
Nanometer-Level Performance: The Parker ZFA Series boasts industry-leading natural frequencies, providing stabilities on the nanometer scale. With single-digit nanometer resolutions, it facilitates rapid step-and-settle moves, enhancing image quality and throughput.
Compact Design: Featuring a 95 x 90 x 36 mm form factor, the ZFA Series is compact yet robust, fitting seamlessly into a wide range of instruments and machinery setups.
High Load Capacity: The internal magnetic counterbalance supports up to 1 kg of objective mass, while the optional external counterbalance increases capacity to 2 kg, enabling the use of larger lenses for broader fields of view.
Advanced Motion Control: Equipped with a high-dynamic voice coil drive and precision cross-roller guidance, the ZFA Series is built for smooth, accurate motion without wear over time when paired with an advanced motion controller.
Superior Encoder Technology: The ZFA Series includes high-resolution linear encoders with incremental and analog options, achieving exceptional positional accuracy at nanometer-level resolution.
Ease of Integration: Integral carriage and base datum features facilitate easy alignment and integration into both new and existing instruments. Optional factory-aligned objective brackets streamline the instrument assembly process.
Applications and Industries
Life Sciences: Enhances imaging system performance, reducing cycle times and improving resolution for applications such as microscopy, digital pathology, and Next-Generation Sequencing.
Semiconductor Metrology: Delivers the stability and accuracy required for critical measurement tasks, ensuring consistent, reliable results.
Other Imaging Environments: Ideal for any dynamic imaging setup requiring precise, rapid positioning with minimal maintenance needs.
If you have any questions or are just looking for some help, we're happy to discuss your application with you. Reach out to us at (855) 737-4716 or fill out our online form.
How many of your plant processes still depend on operator tribal knowledge? Any of those operators retiring soon? Yokogawa's e-RT3 Plus utilizes Factorial Kernel Dynamic Policy Programming (FKDPP) for accelerated machine learning. Jointly developed by Yokogawa and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), FKDPP is an autonomous control AI protocol that makes use of reinforcement learning technology. It can control and autonomize areas of plant operations that have been beyond the capabilities of existing control methods and have up to now necessitated manual operation. Yep…that’s right…operator tribal knowledge.
More on FKDPP
FKDPP is a new control technology that is different from PID control and APC. In March 2022, it was announced that Yokogawa and JSR Corporation's elastomer business unit (now owned by ENEOS Materials) had successfully concluded a 35-day field test in which AI was used to autonomously control a facility in a chemical plant that could not be controlled using existing control methods and had necessitated the manual operation of control valves based on the judgements of plant personnel. A world first, this was accomplished despite the presence of factors such as weather conditions that could have significantly disrupted the control state.
With the new service that Yokogawa announced, customers can create AI control models using the FKDPP algorithm and install them on edge controllers. This service has the following features and merits:
FKDPP Features
Thanks to simplification of the AI model creation process, even non-AI experts can create an autonomous control AI model and install it on an e-RT3 edge controller.
Retrofit of edge controllers with the installation of the autonomous control AI can be performed while other facilities remain in use.
Supports control cycles as short as 0.01 seconds and is optimal for device control applications that require a quick response.
FKDPP Merits
Enables autonomous control where only manual control was possible By applying autonomous control AI in areas that are beyond the capabilities of PID control and APC, both autonomy and optimal control can be achieved. It enables stable control that is less susceptible to external disturbances and increases productivity.
Suppresses overshoot Although this will vary depending on the control targets, FKDPP suppresses overshoot. The reduction of overshoot (a condition where a set value is exceeded) is expected to extend, for example, the lifetime of furnaces and other heating facilities by reducing unnecessary overheating.
Significantly reduces settling time FKDPP significantly reduces the settling time compared with PID control, saving energy and improving productivity.
Ability to achieve the right balance between conflicting requirements Although this will depend on the control targets, FKDPP is able to resolve conflicting requirements and, for example, achieve the right balance between the need to reduce energy use while maintaining product quality.
Yokogawa put FKDPP into practical use by utilizing the company's know-how regarding plant operation and control, and successfully autonomized manual operations of a distillation column during a field test at a chemical plant.
Life Sciences: Enhances imaging system performance, reducing cycle times and improving resolution for applications such as microscopy, digital pathology, and Next-Generation Sequencing.