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Automation

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There are many applications in automation calling for repetitive rotary indexing. Some examples:

  • star wheels
  • conveyors
  • escapements
  • parts positioning for labeling, machining, inspection, etc.
  • dispensing

There are at least three types of indexing drives that the engineer can choose between for these applications:

  • Mechanical cam based drive
  • Electrical servo based drive conveyors
  • Pneumatic indexing drive

Unique

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Rotomation manufactures high speed, heavy duty pneumatic actuators that produce several shaft motions. All products are extremely configurable, which separate us from our competitors and give users maximum flexibility in their design. Another unique advantage we have is our ability of supplying special actuators quickly and at a reasonable price.

Unique Products

Like all of our competitors, we have a basic line of bidirectional actuators that rotate between two positions. Like some of our competitors, we also carry a line of multi-position actuators that rotate between three, four, or five positions in any sequence and a line of multi-motion actuators that combine linear stroke with rotary motion, independently-controlled but all in one actuator. But here are a few aspects that set us apart from our competitors.

We offer a line of unidirectional actuators that rotate in increments and prevent backward rotation. These actuators are divided in two main families, stepping and indexing.

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X4 Indexer showing motion

Our popular indexing actuators, like the X4 shown on the image on left, provide precise and repeatable stopping capability with no accumulating error and very high accuracy within ±0.2 degrees. There is no other actuator of its kind available on the market and they are often used to replace servo motors or cam-based drives at a far lower cost, without its unnecessary complexity. Learn more about how they work here.

Common applications: index tables, indexing conveyors, star wheels, walking beams

S4 Stepper Motion

Our rugged stepping actuators, like the S4 shown on the image on left, will provide torque over a fixed angle but unlike our indexing actuators, they don't have stopping capability. Unlike our indexing actuators, our stepping actuators can go over 360 degrees (over 1 revolution) with standard rotations up to 730 degrees and rotation angle can be reduced by up to 30 degrees with our stroke adjusters. These actuators are resilient as they are self-contained units with hefty shaft bearings to assure best concentricity rather than the modular add-on clutch adapters offered by our competitors.

Common applications: used as drives for conveyors, roll/material feeders, detented or shot-pinned loads

PX2 Nitpicker Motion

Our unparalleled line of nitpicking actuators, like the PX2 shown on the image on left, provide both rotary and linear motion, independently-controlled, but has indexing rotary motion instead of the regular rotary motion in our pick and place actuators. Like the indexing actuators above, our nitpickers provide unidirectional rotation in precise, repeatable steps with no accumulating error, in addition to linear motion with standard strokes up to 12 inches.

Common applications: sequential assembly and/or testing, indexing applications requiring extension/retraction motion to pick a workpiece and process it

Our family of compact actuators include a variety of rotary actuators such as our A032, that provide more torque and bearing capacity than any other actuator of similar size on the market, our AL75 with its characteristic slow start/stop motion inherited from its patented drive mechanism that is unlike any other rotary actuator we offer. Image below shows a group shot of our three compact rotary actuators.

Compact Rotary Actuators, Patented Al75, Robust A032, And Powerful A752

Unique Quality

All our actuators are manufactured with the highest degree of quality, surpassing the industry standard. Our pneumatic actuators are therefore capable of high speed cycle rates and feature an inherent heavy duty construction, only matched by hydraulic actuators. Our actuators are used in harsh environments such as in metal working applications, electronic and mechanical assembly applications, demanding testing applications, food packaging applications, and semi-automated bakery production lines, among others. Our actuators are so reliable and durable that they are very popular among the automotive, semiconductor, food, and pharmaceutical industries.

We use nothing but the best and highest quality materials available in our product lines and always design for maximum ruggedness, reliability and durability. Materials such as 2024 aluminum and 4150 heat-treated steel are commonly used in the manufacturing of our parts and we use the latest and greatest coatings and treatments to ensure maximum endurance. We also offer alternate materials to accommodate specialty applications requiring enhanced corrosion resistance and/or clean environments.

Unique Application

Whether your application requires a unique feature on a standard unit or a completely new actuator, we have a solution for your unique application. About 40% of the actuators we produce require some special feature or modification, or in some cases, they are completely new products, depending in the application and the customer’s request. Click to see examples of our latest customized and/or custom-made actuators.

Unique Satisfaction

Our attention to detail and unique team of knowledgeable technicians and professionals stand behind the quality of our products to ensure your satisfaction and reliable performance for millions of duty cycles and years to come. Furthermore, our excellent sales and engineering team will guide you through the process of selecting and specifying your actuator to satisfy your specific needs, to help you meet and exceed your production expectations and be there for you if you need any kind of support along the way.

Here at Rotomation, Inc., you get targeted engineering services, personalized customer service and unique technical support, all included in the price of the actuator. So when you choose our products, you get our expertise; it’s that simple!

Service

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Rotomation is dedicated to your success, so we provide the best customer service we can. When you do business with Rotomation, you get specialized engineering services, personalized customer service and targeted technical support. Whether you need a quote, help with an actuator, or a return material authorization (RMA) number, we will address your inquiry immediately if you call during regular business hours (M-F 8:00 am-5:30 pm ET). If you call outside business hours, we will call you immediately upon returning.

Basic Services

Your needs go beyond purchasing an actuator, so we provide services to prospective and current customers at no additional charge. Some of our basic complimentary services are:

Actuator selection and sizing assistance

If you need help in determing which type of actuator to use for your application, or the appropriate size to handle your load properly, we can help make sure the actuator you buy is the one you need.

Actuator cross-referencing

We help you choose a suitable Rotomation actuator to replace a competitor’s unit and can match critical characteristics to save you time and money.

Price listing

You can get current list prices on any specific configuration on either standard or special actuators.

Integration and installation assistance

We provide you with the information you need to integrate, install and operate our products, or to adapt them to your load or operating conditions, or will suggest alternatives.

Order tracking

You can get your order status at any stage.

Distributor relations

Our distributors were carefully selected due to their capabilities, track record and high standards. If you ever have any questions about any of our distributors, please contact us.

Troubleshooting guidance

We will help you with any issues using our actuators with your application, guide you through critical initial steps to determine the root cause, and provide you with specific suggestions to prevent future reoccurrence. We will stand by your side until your actuator issues are fully resolved, and you’re back in business.

Lead times

We estimate lead times at the quoting stage, but will calculate an actual time for a specific actuator configuration upon request.  You will get an actual ship date upon our receipt of your order.  We stock most of the parts used for our standard actuators. So we can build actuators to order promptly, and also ship replacement parts and seal repair kits (SRK) the next day if necessary.

Special actuator Design

We will help you determine any modifications and additional parts required in order to make our actuator fit your application. If a simple modification won’t do, we will help you establish specifications and requirements to develop a unique special actuator for your application.

Testing Services

We test 100% of the actuators we sell before shipment to ensure conformance to published ratings and specifications. If you need us to perform additional testing of any nature, we will be glad to set up special testing for your actuator. Our capabilities include, but are not limited to, performance, life cycle, and leak tests.

CAD files

If you can’t find the CAD files you need in our online configurators, we will create and send them to you.

Supporting documents

If you need further documentation, we will send you any you need to install, operate, or troubleshoot our actuators.

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Benefits

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Rotomation is dedicated to providing value-added solutions for our customers and we thrive with their success. We are a customer-focused operation, always accessible for our distributors and end users. Below a few benefits our customers enjoy.

High Quality Products

Rotomation actuators are designed for high cycle rates and long life expectancy. We stand behind our products with a basic 2-year limited warranty. Our actuators typically run for tens of millions of cycles and are also fully rebuildable. Our factory’s repair service will restore your actuator to its full functional integrity, adding millions more duty cycles. It’s like buying a new actuator at a fraction of the price of a new unit. Invest in our products and get your ROI many times over!

We often hear from our customers who have a Rotomation actuator which has been in service for ten, twenty, or thirty years and is starting to show its age. They are sometimes surprised to hear that we support nearly all of our old products, and that our current models will drop in place of the old ones, despite improvements made to every component for even longer life. Each unit is serialized and we maintain records of every actuator indefinitely.

See our “Unique” featured article for more information regarding our products.

Solutions that Fit your Specific Needs

Rotomation offers extreme flexibility in options so that you can configure your actuator to suit your needs exactly, rather than compromising your design to accommodate a one-size-fits-all actuator from our competition. Many times a simple modification to the shaft size, projection, or machined features such as keyways, flats, thru holes, etc. can improve your product and/or reduce cost. Or, you might need the actuator’s main body and end caps to be made of an alternative material like stainless steel or plastic, instead of the standard anodized aluminum alloy. A custom mounting hole pattern might make our actuator drop into your current setup. Rotomation understands your needs and is dedicated to providing solutions that allow you to optimize your design.

See our “Special Actuators” section for more information about our capabilities and some examples.

Stainless A42 Rotary Actuator

Special stainless steel A42 rotary actuator. Mouse over image to see standard actuator (with aluminum parts).

We are Here for You

When you call Rotomation during business hours, you will speak to a person, not to an automated switchboard. Our engineers are eager to collaborate with design and application engineers to help them size, configure, specify, and integrate our products successfully. If we don’t have a suitable product, we will do our best to suggest one from one of our worthy competitors. Whether you are looking for a one-off or for hundreds of actuators, you will receive the same support and attention.

See our “Service” featured article for more information.

Worldwide Distribution with Local Representation in USA

A network of distributors across the United States offer Rotomation products, along with complimentary components for use in industrial automation. Knowledgeable salespeople and applications engineers can save you precious time and money by introducing your engineers to the newest products and solutions available on the market. Whether you contact us directly or our distributor initially, you will get the best of both companies with superior customer service and local targeted support.

To find contact information of distributor(s) serving your area, please visit the “Where to Buy” section and select your location.

Technology that Drives Improvement

Rotomation continuously improves its products and operations in order to remain a leader in the automation industry and provide the latest actuation technology with the highest possible degree of quality. We design, evaluate, and simulate our parts and products using cutting edge CAD software and generate machine programs with our model-feature-based CAM software that are transferred directly to one of many CNC machines in our state-of-the-art facility to produce our parts and products efficiently and with consistent results.

Experienced Team of Professionals

Rotomation employees have an average of more than 18 years with the company, making craftsmanship, expertise, and personal responsibility key elements of our production. They’ve witnessed the progression of our product line throughout the years and have learned the tricks of the trade, making them crucial to our company’s continuous success. With a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, our team of highly skilled professionals is key in fostering improvement to our daily operations and sustaining product quality.

Rotomation's Team

Proudly Made in USA, Responsibly!

Rotomation operates from a custom-built facility in beautiful Ormond Beach, Florida. Not only we are an American-born enterprise but we also make environmental responsibility our priority. We believe that alternative energy is fundamental to reducing our carbon footprint and that’s why we recently installed a 35 kW solar photovoltaic system array that provides about half the power needed for our manufacturing facility. We diligently pursue other important environmental initiatives including use of environmentally-safe products in our daily operations including biodegradable machine coolant and cleaning agents. We also make sure all scrap materials, whether from production or shipping are recycled and/or reused properly, just like all other waste produced.

Proudly Made in the USA

AS7 Solution

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Rotomation’s standard product line is highly configurable and adaptable to a very broad range of applications, however, we also make custom solutions. Here is an example of one in which we were able to provide a special product optimized for a customer’s specific application, and by doing so, simplify their production, improve their product, and reduce their cost.

Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) in Loveland, Colorado manufactures state-of-the-art conveying equipment for the bottling industry. One of their products, used for moving empty plastic bottles at high speed between the blow molder and the filling equipment, has a unique feature to precisely control drive pressure for each 10’ section of conveyor. Controlling drive pressure this way is key for a jam-free conveyance of today’s lightweight bottles. AMT conveyor plenums are segmented into high and low-pressure zones by means of dampers located at intervals down the length of the conveyor. As the conveyor fills with bottles the dampers adjust to provide higher pressure where bottles are accumulated and require more drive.

AMT Conveyor Diagram

AMT’s original solution included an air cylinder driving a lever that was attached to the square damper shaft. Mounting brackets incorporated the adjustable stops needed to adjust the motion of the damper. A directional control valve and the related plumbing had to be installed. In some cases, the assembly had to be shielded to protect personnel from pinch points. The time required to assemble and adjust all of this was substantial.

AS7 Actuator Current Design without Guard

Original Solution

 

Original Design with Pinch Guard
Original Design with Pinch Guard

Rotomation’s solution was a rotary actuator designed just for this application. It has a square hole through the shaft which accepts the damper shaft and eliminates the need for one of the duct-mounted bearings. The directional control valve is built into the actuator, so only a single air line is needed. Fixed orifices control the speed, eliminating the need for adjustment at assembly and reduces problems in the field due to user error. The actuator has built-in rotation adjustments which are easy to set. Mounting is simple and quick, with just two bolts, the air line, and a special lighted cable for the valve. The actuator is protected from damage by washdown and has no pinch points.

 

AS7 Actuator Solution
Rotomation’s Final Design

Rotomation engineers and AMT engineers worked through a couple of iterations to perfect the product in a short timeline, and it is now used for all of AMT’s product of this type.

Call Rotomation today at 386-676-6377 to discuss your application! Our engineers are ready, willing, and able to provide a solution to help you optimize your design.

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Special Actuators

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Rotomation welcomes requests for special actuators because we understand how they can save our customers money by reducing the cost of extra parts or engineering time and/or improving their product or process. About 40% of the actuators we produce have some non-standard feature that improves our actuator’s ability to adapt to the load and/or working conditions to better fit our customer’s application.

For more specialized applications or actuators that do not conform to the same principles of our standard product line, our expert team of design engineers will work with you to establish specifications tailored to meet your specific requirements, then they will design, develop, and test a new product from the ground up if required. Whether you need one unit or thousands, we will produce what you need quickly and at a reasonable price.

We assign a special code in the part number of every special actuator that points to a unique bill of material that contains all the specifications and modifications necessary to reproduce a specific special actuator to simplify reordering. Upon request, we can also declare a special actuator to be proprietary to the OEM or distributor who ordered it originally to protect their investment.
 

Customized Actuators

If your application requires a simple modification to one or more parts on one of our standard units or you need us to make one of our standard actuators in some other material due to special environmental requirements, we’ll be glad to help you. See a few examples of recent customizations made for some of our customers below.

Like A Rotary Actuator But With Unidirectional Rotation

 

Custom Material Actuators

If your application requires one of our standard actuators to be made from a different material, including stainless steel, due to specific environmental requirements.

Like A Rotary Actuator But With Unidirectional Rotation

Customized Designed Actuators for OEM

If your application would be optimized by having an actuator designed from the ground up to suit your exact needs.

Like A Rotary Actuator But With Unidirectional Rotation

A032-x010 Thru-shaft Air Feed With Rear Manifold

Special A032 rotary actuator with thru-shaft air feed and rear air manifold
(mouse over to compare to standard unit)

X12-B002

Special X12 indexing actuator with integrated mount flange, 8mm diameter plated shaft, and pharmaceutical-grade PTFE shaft seal for clean room manufacturing environment

X3-X006

Special X3 indexing actuator with gripper adapter and integrated dual channel
air manifold, recessed end caps and custom shaft mounting adapter

Actuator Auto Run setup

Special setup for auto-run functionality – click on image for more information.

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Protection Options

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Washdown Protection

Our washdown protection option for actuators can be used in applications where water ingress protection, corrosion resistance, and leak contamination prevention are paramount. Rotomation also offers fluoroelastomer (FKM) seals for washing down with high-temperature caustic cleaning solutions.  Shaft seals are built into the body or integral cover plates, cylinders are sealed by O-rings, and assembly threads are sealed.  We use stainless shafts with anodized body and end caps. Also available are hard chrome-plated shafts and electroless nickel-plated body and end caps. See diagram.

Want more information?

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Stainless Steel

We also provide stainless steel actuators with special PTFE and/or fluoroelastomer seals to prevent the entry of corrosive materials and preserve piston seals and vital lubrication.

Stainless A42 Rotary Actuator

Special stainless steel A42 rotary actuator. Mouse over the image to see the standard actuator with aluminum parts.

Al75 Actuator In Stainless Steel
The very compact AL 75, with its inherent soft start and stop.

Stainless Steel PA2

A long-stroke PA2.

Note the easily cleaned, uniform finish. The reliability and durability of these units largely eliminate the remove-and-replace production interruptions needed for units with less chemical resistance. We can produce just about any of our actuators in a suitable stainless alloy upon request. When nothing else will hold up, your customers will save money going with stainless steel.

 

Solutions That Fit Your Specific Needs

Rotomation offers extreme flexibility in options for you to configure your actuator to suit your needs exactly, rather than compromising your design to accommodate a one-size-fits-all actuator. Many times a simple modification to the shaft size, projection, or machined features such as keyways, flats, thru holes, etc., can improve your product and reduce cost. Or, you might need the actuator’s main body and end caps to be made of an alternative material like stainless steel or plastic, instead of the standard anodized aluminum alloy. A custom mounting hole pattern might make our actuator drop into your current setup. Rotomation understands your needs and is dedicated to providing solutions that allow you to optimize your design.

Rugged, Reliable Construction

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Rotomation is dedicated to providing value-added solutions for our customers and we thrive with their success. We are a customer-focused operation, always accessible for our distributors and end users.

Maximum Reliability

Rotomation actuators are designed for high cycle rates and long life expectancy. We stand behind our products with a basic 2-year limited warranty. Our actuators typically run for tens of millions of cycles, and include:

  • Pinion shafts made in one piece of quenched and tempered 4150 steel for extreme impact resistance, accuracy, and long life.
  • Floating pistons and racks for maximum reliability and fault tolerance.
  • Replaceable sintered bronze rack bearings for long life and repairability.
  • Oversized ball bearings handle heavy loads and allow for substantial hollow shafts and specials.

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Typical Actuator Construction & Features

The fully machined body with oversized bearings and rugged shafts makes it possible to use the actuator as the bearing for your load, reducing parts count, design effort, and space requirement. We stock blank pinion shafts of full bearing bore diameter and extra length so we can make special shafts without delay to optimize your design.

Rotomation actuators stand up to millions of operations under heavy load, and are fully rebuildable. We offer a rebuild service with quick turnaround, or you can order the parts and do it yourself.

We often hear from our customers who have a Rotomation actuator which has been in service for ten, twenty, or thirty years and is starting to show its age. They are sometimes surprised to hear that we support nearly all of our old products, and that our current models will drop in place of the old ones, despite improvements made to every component for even longer life. Each unit is serialized and we maintain records of every actuator indefinitely.

See our “Unique” featured article for more information regarding our products.

Contact us to discuss your actuator requirements.

Proudly Made in the USA

Rotary Indexer Applications

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A Rotary Indexing Actuator is a unique pneumatic device that provides unidirectional rotation in fixed precise steps to hard stops. They prevent backward rotation and feature no accumulating error.

Walking Beam:

Walking Beam

The customer in this example is filling tubs of ice cream with the mechanism located away from the food area. Each 360° index moves a new tub under the filling nozzle. The Rotomation indexer is the only mechanical indexing device that can rotate 360° in one index.

Carton Up-Ender:

Carton Up Ender
Here the 90° index rotates a carton on a conveyor.
 
 

Talk with our engineers about your application.   Contact Us