Linear actuators are motion devices that create force and motion in a straight line. A linear actuator consists of a rotary motor (stepper, brush DC or brushless servo) and a threaded lead screw with a precision nut. As the motor’s rotor spins, the linear actuator converts the motor’s rotation into linear motion by moving the nut in a straight line. The push or pull linear motion is achieved directly through the nut and the lead screw.

The straight-line movement provided by linear actuators can be used to lift, drop, slide, adjust, tilt, push or pull objects with the simple push of a button. Linear actuators provide the back-and-forth movement for thousands of items that people use every day, in numerous industries including manufacturing, robotics, healthcare, automotive, aerospace, home automation and many others.

A linear actuator actuates – or moves – in a straight line. The primary reason for designing a linear actuator into a system is to address the need to accurately move a payload in a linear fashion, rather than a rotary one. The operation of a Linear actuator is simple. A lead screw (or ball screw) acts to translate the clockwise and counterclockwise rotary force (torque) of the motor into back-and-forth linear motion for a nut traveling along the length of screw.