Linear Actuator Force and Power

WHAT THIS SCREEN ANSWERS

A linear actuator is often sized from a single payload number, then fails at the first acceleration, incline, or friction change. The useful question is not simply how much a load weighs. It is what force the mechanism must deliver along its actual direction of travel, at its fastest required move, under its least favorable stated condition. This screen separates those pieces so the result remains inspectable.

Start with the moving mass and acceleration. Their product is the inertial force needed to change velocity. Add entered friction because guideways, seals, cable carriers, and contact surfaces do not behave like an ideal free body. If the travel is inclined, gravity either adds to or subtracts from the demand. The result is a peak force estimate, not a rating for a finished machine.

Power adds the missing time dimension. A high force at low speed may require little mechanical power. A modest force at high speed can exceed the available drive power. MechPlane shows both the force and the power implied by the same condition, then applies the entered transmission efficiency so losses are not silently ignored. That makes a direct actuator, belt drive, screw, or cylinder comparison more honest.

Treat the output as a starting envelope. It does not include actuator buckling, ball-screw critical speed, motor thermal behavior, emergency stops, duty-cycle heating, or structural mounting loads. If any of those conditions govern the actual machine, the next decision is to model that constraint directly and confirm the selected component against its current supplier documentation.