Thomson Improves Energy Efficiency of Medium-duty Applications with 48-volt Electric Linear Actuator

Nov. 5, 2024 - Thomson Industries, Inc., a leading manufacturer of linear motion control solutions, has announced that its Electrak MD actuator now has a 48 V rating. The availability of a 48 V actuator that can handle loads of up to 2 kN (about 450 lbs.) equips battery powered system designers with energy efficiency, cable management and control capability that might otherwise require larger, more expensive actuators.

“The more electrical functionality and axes of motion on a vehicle, the more sense it makes to use higher-voltage batteries to drive the actuators. By upgrading our Electrak MD actuators to handle 48 volts, we have reduced the current draw to half that of a 24-volt actuator and a quarter of that of a 12-volt actuator. This opens new doors to value-added innovation in mobile systems,” said Anders Karlsson, senior product manager - Linear Actuators at Thomson.

The new voltage standard

Battery technology has been improving significantly in both power and density, with 48 V batteries now standard in material handling and agricultural applications. By achieving comparable load handling with a dramatically lower current draw, designers can enjoy the following benefits:

• Improved energy efficiency, which lowers costs and reduces heat 

• Reduced cabling costs and simplified cable management, by allowing thinner cables

• Longer distance deployment, reducing voltage dropoff by as much as 10 times

• Higher controllability through more efficient integration involving CANopen, SAE J1939 and smart features such as position feedback.

Expanded applications

The Electrak MD 48 V actuator enables advanced motion control wherever 48 V batteries are in use. This is especially valuable today in logistics and material handling applications such as forklifts and AGVs, which are both operator-driven and autonomous.

Agricultural equipment is another area of application. Actuators in electric power takeoff (ePTO) mechanisms on modern tractors, for example, help transfer power from tractors to other vehicle equipment, and the low current demand makes the entire system more efficient. Similarly, the low current demand could improve the efficiency of automated harvesting systems.

The perfect fit

The availability of the Electrak MD 48 V completes Thomson’s power options. Designers now have greater flexibility to mix and match 12 V, 24 V and 48 V-rated actuators to move loads of up to 25 kN, without having to configure subsystems such as DC converters.

“If you have automation on six or seven axes, each drawing about five amps, you may still need to design for 100 amps inrush for the motors, leaving little room to run actuators for ancillary functions such as adjustments and locking. With the Electrak MD 48 V, you can make everything fit without having to reconfigure for a larger system than you need,” said Karlsson.