Electric meets hydraulics – Intelligent electric actuators with fluidic gearboxes in process automation

The objective of automating plants is to improve the life cycle costs of the plant and thereby increase competitiveness. Against this backdrop, customers have for years demanded simple and energy-efficient drive systems. These requirements are difficult to satisfy, especially when it comes to sophisticated Open/Close, actuating and control tasks. When high forces or torque – coupled with quick-action and safety functions - are at stake, electromechanical drives, pneumatic drives or, traditionally, hydraulic systems are employed. While the first are easy to actuate and install, they are not compact and become complex when safety functions are integrated. Pneumatic drive systems require the added infrastructure of compressed air supply, combined with high installation complexity, the need for interim buffering, and the high operating costs caused by leaks, which may be significant. Hydraulic systems, on the other hand, have a compact design – even with safety functions – but are more difficult to actuate and install and generate maintenance costs that are not to be underestimated. TriVAX for the first time offers a drive platform that consists of an electric actuator and a hydraulic gearbox, making the unit easy to install and actuate as well as energy-efficient and low-maintenance. In applications in the chemical as well as the oil and gas industries and power plants, TriVAX is more cost-efficient than conventional solutions.