Direct action

When I last put the cases for and against the use of linear motors, it was clear that while linear drive technology had a future in an increasing number of applications, ballscrew technology was not about to go quietly.

That was four years ago. Today, I can justifiably draw the same conclusions. What is also clear, however, is that confidence in linear technology has not risen anything like as sharply as predicted.

This may be due entirely to the general downturn in world markets, but I cannot discount the possibility that many of the initial problems that builders were faced with are still there and have yet to be dealt with satisfactorily.

It seems that linear technology just cannot produce the power required for heavy machining operations without producing excessive heat, due to the size, or number, of motors required. Supporting this is the fact that most of the more recent innovations have focused on the increased speed or compactness linear technology offers over conventional drive systems.