Headquartered in the Melbourne suburb of Bayswater, ANCA Motion is uniquely positioned to benefit from strong growth in the global tubular linear motor market.
According to reports by Accurize Research, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the tubular linear motor segment worldwide is expected to reach 6.4% by 2026. Growth is particularly strong across the packaging, construction and manufacturing industries. Tubular linear motors are gaining traction in industrial applications, especially in the packaging and medical sectors, since these motors are an ideal replacement for pneumatics as they have a similar form factor but much better efficiency and reliability. Some of the biggest tubular linear motor manufacturers are expanding their product portfolio to offer flexibility in machinery used for sealing and discharge end-use cases.
ANCA Motion’s LinX range of tubular linear motors offers improved performance at a competitive cost compared with conventional flat linear motors and rotary motors. Attributes that make LinX an ideal solution are its high speed and acceleration capabilities, modular design, reduced maintenance, standalone thermal stability, and ability to achieve higher IP protection.
ANCA Motion primarily focuses on the food & beverage and packaging industries with its range of interfacing products such as LinX tubular linear motors and high-speed servo motors, with low, medium, and high-inertia applications. They meet the required Ingress Protection standards for food & beverage packaging machines. Furthermore, these products have a smaller footprint to reduce the overall size of the machine and can manufacture materials that are compatible with industry requirements.
“The recent pandemic has highlighted the importance of manufacturers to remain adaptive to the changing needs of their market,” says Paul Bocchi, General Manager at ANCA Motion. “Modifying needs, ensuring consistent higher quality, reducing unplanned breakdowns, and shortage of skilled labour are some of the key challenges faced by the industry. Our LinX range of tubular linear motors was designed keeping those challenges in mind. They are simple to control, adaptable to needs and have higher IP protection.”
Customers today are demanding products with higher speeds and better accuracy. ANCA Motion’s LinX M-Series linear motor replaces pneumatics in applications that require a more complex motion profile. For instance, shifting between two or more set points is easily achieved with a linear motor as pneumatics is more suited for point-to-point applications and can introduce stiffness into the loop. With LinX, this stiffness can be easily overcome, owing to its servo control. Furthermore, a pneumatic solution typically doesn’t have position feedback but the LinX M-series has an integrated position sensor that provides feedback to the motor, which results in better positioning control.
Businesses need to stay adaptive to cater to different market needs for different occasions and to stay ahead of their competitors. In instances where an existing production line requires modification to meet a different need, the settings of LinX can be changed by simply editing parameters within the drive configuration by the operator, thereby saving valuable time and cost. LinX brings increased flexibility to the system and is suitable for applications requiring smoother control or where motion is synchronised to the master shaft.
ANCA Motion aims to provide OEMs with the ability to design and develop machines to encourage effective use of resources and minimise environmental impacts. Bocchi says: “Our LinX range of tubular linear motors possesses beneficial features such as zero downforce, standalone thermal stability, simple installation, and strong magnetic flux. These features translate to benefits for customers such as shorter time to install, thereby providing quick turnarounds, efficient cooling mechanisms reducing energy consumption, longer machine life and durable products.”
ANCA recently helped one of its OEM customers within the food & beverage industry who wanted to expand their market share by venturing into new market areas. The customer found that its existing motor limited it due to higher IP ratings, wash-down capability, and maintenance. ANCA Motion worked collaboratively with the customer to understand its requirements and developed a suitable motor from scratch. Apart from custom motors, ANCA Motion also provides off-the-shelf products such as LinX S-Series and M-Series tubular linear motors, AMD 2000 servo drives, the Alpha and Gamma series of rotary motors, as well as CNCs and motion controllers.
Looking ahead to future plans, Bocchi concludes: “The LinX tubular linear motors offers greater flexibility, speed, accuracy, and the ability to customise and future proof the manufacturing lines. In the future, we will be developing this core competency to further enhance our product offering and applications so that OEMs and the food & beverage industry are ahead of consumer trends.”