Large-Thrust Servo Electric Cylinder Applied to a Vacuum Hot-Pressing Station: A Case Study of “Replacing Hydraulic Power with Electric Drive” for a New Energy Customer's Lamination Process

This project involved a composite materials and soft-pack structural component manufacturer located in the Yangtze River Delta. Its existing vacuum hot-pressing forming line had long used a hydraulic system to drive the upper pressing plate. As product precision requirements increased and environmental requirements in the workshop became more demanding, three limitations of the hydraulic station became increasingly apparent: first, the risk of oil leakage threatened the cleanliness of the vacuum chamber; second, the pressure closed-loop response was slow, with pressure-holding accuracy fluctuating beyond ±5%; and third, standby power consumption was high and operating noise was significant. The customer therefore set a clear upgrade objective: complete the transition from hydraulic power to electric drive without changing the vacuum chamber dimensions or pressing cycle.

Tongyousheng's Solution

Suzhou Tongyousheng Electronic Technology Co., Ltd. provided a large-thrust return-type servo electric cylinder, installed inside the frame beneath the vacuum chamber and directly driving the moving pressing plate through guide columns. The complete system consists of a servo motor, planetary reducer, ball screw assembly, and high-strength cylinder body. It provides a rated thrust of 50 kN, peak thrust of 80 kN, stroke of 200 mm, and repeat positioning accuracy of ±0.02 mm.

The control system uses a bus-type servo drive and supports switching between pressure and position dual closed-loop control. Multiple pressing curves can be freely programmed through the HMI:

Rapid mold closing → Soft contact → Stepwise pressure increase → Constant-temperature pressure holding → Pressure release and return

The customer's original vacuum chamber and heating plates were retained. Only the hydraulic cylinder was replaced with an electric cylinder, and the force sensor was recalibrated. This kept the modification cost low and shortened the equipment downtime required for the upgrade.

After six months of continuous operation, data collected at the customer's site showed:

• Pressure control accuracy: Improved from ±5% to ±1%.
• Pressure drift during pressure holding: Less than 0.5%.
• Interlayer bubble rate: Reduced by approximately 70%.
• Changeover time: Reduced. Different products can use preset pressing process recipes without readjusting the hydraulic relief valve.
• Energy consumption: Significantly reduced. The electric cylinder consumes power only during pressing operations, while standby power consumption decreased from 1.8 kW for the hydraulic station to less than 50 W, resulting in overall energy savings of approximately 60%.
• Workshop environment: Hydraulic oil leakage and oil-temperature heat dissipation issues were eliminated, workshop noise decreased by 8 dB, and the facility passed a cleanroom reinspection.

The customer's equipment engineer commented:

“The electric cylinder has turned the pressure curve into a reproducible data asset. The pressing force, stroke, and time of every production batch can now be traced, which was not possible with the hydraulic press in the past.”

Why Choose a Servo Electric Cylinder

Vacuum hot pressing, lamination, and thermoforming processes have high requirements for cleanliness, force-control accuracy, and programmability, which are also areas that are difficult for hydraulic cylinders to balance simultaneously. A servo electric cylinder converts the motor's rotary motion into linear thrust through a screw mechanism. It requires no hydraulic medium and eliminates the risk of hydraulic leakage, while thrust and position can be collected and uploaded in real time. These characteristics align well with the data-driven requirements of Industry 4.0 and intelligent manufacturing production lines.

From small press-fitting applications involving several kN to heavy-duty pressing applications involving hundreds of kN, Tongyousheng electric cylinders have been widely used in new energy batteries, composite materials, 3C electronics, automotive components, and scientific research and testing equipment. If you need assistance with product selection for your specific workstation, thrust curve verification, or an equipment upgrade assessment, please feel free to contact us for free technical selection support.