Videos
From the shop floor
Machines we have built, SDLA actuators at work, and the design decisions behind them. More on the YouTube channel.
Schaner Designs on YouTubeShorts
Actuators and machines in motion
More than linear actuators
Bag openers, part sorters, feeders, test fixtures, and pick-and-place systems, all built from the same modular parts.
Steppers first, servos when it counts
Why we default to open-loop steppers, and when a servo is worth it.
Modular frame or welded structure
T-slot and a few brackets handle linear motion, pick and place, and rotary systems, and stay easy to reconfigure.
Belt drive or ball screw?
Both turn rotary motion into linear motion, but they behave very differently in real machines.
From a compact actuator to over five feet long
Same concept as our first compact T-slot actuator, machined at a much larger scale.
Pick, rotate, and place in one move
Pick a part from one fixture, rotate it 180 degrees mid-transfer, and drop it into the next. Simple motion, repeated hundreds of times.
Most pick and place does not need a robot arm
Lift, traverse, maybe rotate, and a gripper. Simple repeatable motion does not need a six-axis robot.
High-speed pick and place with SDLA actuators
The same actuators we sell as standalone axes, bolted to standard T-slot extrusion. No special versions, no proprietary controls.
Hardware that keeps up with R&D
T-slot frame, pneumatic cylinders, and off-the-shelf parts, so a process change means moving a bracket instead of rebuilding.
One of our biggest linear actuators
Headed to an injection molding shop for pick and place.
Built to fit your existing line
Off-the-shelf stepper motors and drives, nothing proprietary. Mount it to T-slot and wire it with parts you already source.
Same pick and place, different scale
The original was fast and light. The new one is built on 3030 extrusion for real payload and reach.
Build videos
How we built a machine to open bags all day
Walkthrough of a custom machine we built to open bags continuously.
How we built an automated bag feeder
An automated bag feeder, from design to build.
Downdraft table built on aluminum extrusion
A shop downdraft table framed in aluminum T-slot extrusion.
Cycloidal gearbox explained
How a cycloidal reducer works, in under a minute.
Wiring a 6-wire stepper motor without a diagram
How to find the coil pairs and wire a stepper motor with no documentation.
How to crimp connectors like a pro
Crimping technique for reliable machine wiring.