INTERVIEW WITH TIMOTION

TiMOTION is an international industry-leading provider of innovative electric motion systems for equipment automation. With more than 15 years of industrial business experience, the company manufactures electric actuators, lifting columns, gear motors, and associated technologies. 

TiMOTION’s goal is to provide customers with complete and highly customized solutions, as well as technical expertise and tailor-made support to accompany them throughout their automation project. 

TiMOTION Europe is the largest overseas subsidiary within the TiMOTION Group. Based in France, they have distributed their solutions across the European market since 2011 and provide our European customers with premium local services, including:

  • local sales teams spread over the continent to support you in your language; 
  • sales administration teams to support your ordering and logistics administration;
  • several stock contract possibilities;
  • local production teams for samples and small series with short lead times; 
  • local quality and after-sales support. 

Interview with Natasha Laloy, Business Developer at TiMOTION Europe.

Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?

Natasha Laloy: TiMOTION offers highly customizable electric motion systems specifically designed for industrial, healthcare, comfort, and ergonomic equipment. Our highly versatile solutions fit many different applications and come with many functionalities and options, allowing them to withstand demanding requirements.

Where do you find electric actuation systems? Absolutely in any type of industrial automated equipment!

  • Agricultural machinery
  • Industrial automation
  • Ventilation and shading systems
  • Handling equipment
  • AGVs
  • Off-road vehicles
  • Construction engines
  • Cleaning equipment
  • Marine craft

E.E: What’s the news about new products?

N.L: TiMOTION offers a wide range of industrial electric actuators specifically designed to support high requirements and extreme environments. Very robust and high-performing, they benefit from an optional IP69K ingress protection, allowing them to be exposed to dirt and water. 

They come with a 25% duty cycle and can be equipped with Hall sensors or POT, allowing two devices to be synchronized. 

We recently developed two new products to complement our industrial electric actuators’ range. The MA3 is our most powerful industrial electric actuator. It is specifically designed for heavy-duty applications and can push up to 10,000 N. 

The MA4 is our new compact industrial actuator. Its small design makes it easy to integrate into limited spaces and can still push up to 2,000 N. The MA4 can come with the option of our new T-SMART innovation described below.

E.E: What are the ranges of products?

N.L: Here are some of our most interesting industrial electric linear actuators: 

The MA1 industrial electric actuator exists with ACME and Ball screws. It can push up to 2,500 N with ACME screw and 4,500 N with Ball screw and has optional safety functionalities such as an overload clutch or an electromagnetic brake. 

It can fit many different needs with a 12/24/36 V DC or 110/220V AC voltage. 

The MA2 industrial electric actuator is specifically designed for heavy-duty applications. It can push up to 8,000 N, which makes it very powerful, and comes with 12/24/36 V DC voltage with or without PTC. The MA2 also exists as MA2T with our innovative T-SMART functionality.

The MA5 industrial electric actuator is the most compact device in the range. It is perfect to suit the smallest installation spaces. It can push up to 3,500 N and has an optional grease chamber to increase its protection degree and life cycle.

The JP3 and JP4 inline actuators benefit from an inline design, making them very easy to integrate into your equipment. They can respectively push up to 2,000 N and 4,500 N and are ideal for ventilation or shading systems. They both come with 12 or 24 V voltage with or without PTC. MA3 and MA4 are described above.

All our actuator models are customizable and can come with many different options and accessories to fit your applications’ needs. Ask for help from our local sales department to compose the electric motion system that will perfectly meet your expectations or if you need guidance in your project! 

E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?

N.L: The electric linear actuator market is in full development, increasingly replacing hydraulic and pneumatic systems in several sectors. Thanks to more and more powerful technologies, electric motion systems can push high loads without the disadvantages of hydraulic and pneumatic systems, such as compressor problems or fluid leakage. 

Electric actuators are maintenance-free and do not require any intervention for installation. Particularly compact, they are easy to install and use. Moreover, they offer more functionality and control than other systems. They can be programmed with software allowing them to be integrated into complex systems, including various safety features, remote controls, and synchronized, intelligent, or even autonomous movement. 

Electric actuators also offer more environmentally friendly alternatives in various sectors, such as agriculture. On the one hand, they allow for a much higher level of precision and more reliable management of resources, limiting losses and waste. On the other hand, actuators also enable the elimination of liquid or oil leaks, which are common in hydraulic systems and pollute soils.

E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?

N.L: Our market is currently undergoing a digital transformation. Equipment manufacturers are looking for increasingly complex and intelligent solutions to meet their users’ expectations of performance, safety, ergonomics, functionality, and comfort. 

Autonomous and intelligent systems are developing in all sectors and increasingly rely on the Internet of things (IoT) and data mining for more accurate, controllable, and personalized systems.

One of the big trends is the development of specific protocols to support Industry 4.0, the growing trend within the manufacturing industry toward automation and data exchange in technology and processes. With the digitization of processes, new protocols are needed to enable efficient and fast communication between all devices in a system. These protocols allow feedback from the devices to the control system and thus enable predictive maintenance, real-time monitoring of the different tools, and a much more precise system management.

TiMOTION invests daily in Research and Development to support Industry 4.0 and develop ever more efficient electric motion solutions to meet our customers’ needs. 

E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?

N.L: TiMOTION recently launched the T-SMART innovative feature. The T-SMART allows up to 8 actuators to easily be programmed and synchronized. This innovative functionality allows for the design of complex but easy-to-integrate motion systems with a controlled and efficient installation space. 

The T-SMART makes it possible to configure the actuators’ strokes and speeds through a simple computer program, as well as integrate and program different safety functions. Moreover, it enables real-time monitoring of the actuators’ status. Ask for customized service for applications requiring BUS communication! 

The T-SMART feature comes as an option with several products in our industrial range!

E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?

N.L: TiMOTION is a company in full development and continues to grow. We plan to expand our storage and production capacity to support this growth, as well as our sales force in Europe.

Our goal in 2022 is to develop further our industrial range with new, more powerful models and innovative features. Several devices are under development and will soon complete our range to meet our customers’ expectations and equip a wide range of industrial applications. 

Stay tuned for more news! In the meantime, if you wish to be accompanied in your automation project or know more about our products, feel free to contact our Business Developer Natasha Laloy at sales.eu@timotion.com!

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/timotioneurope

https://www.linkedin.com/in/natasha-boyd-laloy-78830118/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TiMOTIONEurope