SMELA GmbH
About us
SMELA GmbH develops, manufactures and distributes innovative drive systems. These intelligently combine electrical and mechanical components to create the most compact plug & play alternative to pneumatic cylinders.
Driven by the technical passion, expertise and innovative strength of our team, we realize customer-oriented drive solutions that can be used in many cases for short linear positioning processes in automated production systems.
The problems of pneumatic systems are well known: enormous energy waste, complex infrastructures and time-consuming commissioning.
The new electromechanical linear actuator of the liteECO® LE50 series solves all these disadvantages, just like its predecessor LE48. In addition, the new series offers an IP65 degree of protection with and through a circular connector that carries power and sensor signals to the outside via a hybrid cable. Furthermore, a high-precision measuring system has been integrated into an even more compact installation space. This further improves the stroke-to-installation length ratio. The new series starts with a basic stroke length of 40 mm and scales up to the three-digit range depending on customer requirements.
Products & services
Electrical linear actuator liteECO® BASE series
SMELA's patented liteECO® linear actuators address applications for fixing, adjusting and moving motion profiles. They can be used for simple to complex mobility applications in e.g. production lines, machine tools, logistics or household appliances. They represent a holistically optimized, mechatronic system consisting of an electrical machine, the mechanical system and integrated sensors. The telescopic arrangement allows the plunger to be integrated without sacrificing motor performance and force. This results in a very favorable ratio of travel distance to overall length and provides the most compact electric alternative to pneumatics. In terms of installation length, the actuators undercut even pneumatics in addition to all electric alternatives, thus offering the advantages of pneumatics with an electric drive for the first time. The convenient advantages of electric actuators are retained without any compromises: - Compact installation length with configurable stroke lengths - High force density & speeds - More than 75 % energy savings compared to pneumatics - Up to 80 % space saving compared to electric solutions - Media-free operation - Fast, simple commissioning - Low maintenance - Integrated, high-resolution encoder system - Positionable and controllable with various motion controllers - Increase in cycle & production rates - Protection class: IP65 - Robust circular connector with quick-lock system - Smooth, sealed plunger The INTEGRATED series also has the advantage that the integrated controller eliminates the need for additional cabling and the installation of external controllers in the control cabinet. It is a standalone solution; however, it can still be connected to digital or analogue IOs to enable island operation, for example.
Electric linear actuator - liteECO® INTEGRATED series
The SMELA liteECO® series is the most compact electromechanical alternative to pneumatic short-stroke cylinders thanks to its patented arrangement of motor and mechanics. This makes them ideal for the many linear movements required in production lines, machine tools or packaging systems. A servo motor including positioning sensors enables the movement of simple to complex profiles: for fixing, adjusting, locking and travelling any type of movement. The highly efficient motor saves up to 90 % energy compared to pneumatic systems. Together with the smart arrangement of the mechanics in the motor, the actuator saves up to 80 % installation space compared to existing electrical solutions. The liteECO® series also offers the option of simple refurbishment. The replacement of a worn mechanics is extremely simple and helps the actuators to achieve life cycles: sustainable, cost- and resource-saving. In addition to the servomotor and linear mechanism, the LE-INTEGRATED actuators have an integrated drive controller based on 24 volts and optionally on 48 volts. They are controlled via EtherCAT, CANopen or digital IOs. As with the BASE series, many of the advantages of electric drives are supplemented with essential features for high industrial requirements and packed into the smallest possible installation space. In addition to sealing to protection class IP65, conventional M8 and M12 circular connectors have been integrated in the A, B, L and Y coding’s. The maximum stroke is 85 or 115 millimeters, whereby any positioning within the maximum stroke is possible without restriction.