LDIA2019 - Invited Talk

Since 1936, Sonceboz develops and produces high quality mechatronic systems designed for positioning, flow control and traction. The systems are based on electric motors and mechatronic drive systems with linear or rotary movement for harsh or hostile environments. Thanks to a very high level of industrial automation and a strong level of control at each stage of the production, Sonceboz is able to provide mechatronic solutions for mass production with a very high level of reliability.

In this keynote, Sonceboz will present a focus on the linear actuators. In a first part, solutions with both rotating motors and mechanical transformations are presented. This kind of solution is strongly used in different Sonceboz products, in automotive positioning applications (idle air control valve, water valve, EGR valve, turbo bypass) as well as in truck and off-road applications (mobile hydraulic for agricultural systems). In the presented applications, the stroke varies from few millimeters to few centimeters with ten micrometers resolution and the force varies from tens of Newtons to hundreds of Newtons. The motor and mechanical transformation technologies will be described, with special highlights on the motor topologies and the mechanical transformation integration.

In a second part, direct drive actuators are presented. The main advantage is to increase the mover speed since no mechanical transformation need to be driven. In that context, two applications dedicated to ICE efficiency improvement will be detailed. The first one is a direct drive linear bistable actuator which is used to shift camshafts of various groove distances for cylinder deactivation or discrete variable valve lift applications. This improves the engine’s performance and reduces CO2 emissions. The second one concerns an electromagnetic valve, which is an ultimate solution to refine the control of the opening and closing of ICE valves.

Finally, in conclusion of this keynote, following the presentation of existing actuators, several issues for linear drive improvement will be drawn and associated topics of research will be proposed.