Success story: In actuator applications, it's usually the questions you don't ask

Case Study: Conversion from Hydraulic to Electric Actuators

By Sandia Harrison, Director of Marketing, FPE Automation

It could have one of those typical, everyday phone calls. A tier-1 automotive supplier needed actuators. Many of us know the type of questions that typically follow; what are the specifications? Size, duty cycle, force, price. When everything looks good, get a quote and order the actuator. 

Those are all the right questions, to be sure. This success story is about questions that often remain unasked. 

Leaking Hydraulic Fluid

John Lackmann has been with Melton Machine & Control Company for nine years. He has spent time at their Computech division during his tenure there as well. John has seen a lot. He has learned to ask questions. The right questions, about an actuator's environment.

John works closely with my co-worker, FPE Automation's Jason Vilmer. It was Jason who pointed out John's exceptional expertise. Jason suggested I give him a call. 

John's a busy man, but I did manage to reach him for a quick conversation. During our phone call, John told me, "Just because you previously used something doesn't mean it's the best option. I like to make sure it's still the best thing out there, or that there isn't something value-added that would be more useful to either a new or existing customer."

During a plant visit, John noticed that the hydraulic fluids were mixing with the items being pressed. It was causing numerous problems. "How we interact with our customers is pretty tight compared to others", he said. "That's how we operate. We'd love to have a bunch of new customers, but it is more important that our existing customers are satisfied and come back to us".

John Lackman

Application Engineer
Melton Machine & Control

With that in mind, John suggested that they try electric actuators instead. He contacted Jason, who introduced John to a core team of engineers at FPE Automation. The FPE Automation engineering team brought in experts from Tolomatic as well. Together, the group explored their options. 

I asked John what an experienced engineer knows about sizing and using actuators that, say, a newbie to the field does not? His response; "I've learned that it is best to utilize either your distributor or your Tolomatic reps. Use their calculators and the latest technology."

The Result

"We replaced a tier-1 automotive supplier who was previously using hydraulic actuators with Tolomatic RSA heavy-duty electric actuators in five work cells" John concluded, "and the electric actuators allowed higher uptime, cleaner cells and were very valuable."

FPE Automation's Jason Vilmer agrees. "Of course it's always satisfying to fix something that is broken." he said, "but even more so when you exceed the customer's expectations. This upgrade did just that. When you consider the reliability of Tolomatic's products, this application will run cleaner, and more efficiently for many years to come."