In some electric actuator installations, the position of the motor housing, cable exit, or mounting holes can affect how easily the actuator fits into a project. This is especially common in compact assemblies where side-mounted motors or cables may interfere with surrounding frames, brackets, or enclosure walls. In some cases, we can customize actuators with rotated mounting holes before shipment; however, custom manufacturing fees may apply, and lead times can take up to 13 weeks. If your project requires a stock actuator and you are comfortable making this adjustment yourself, this step-by-step article explains how mounting holes may be rotated on select models.
Introduction
Please note that rotating the actuator mounting holes may affect its ingress protection rating and should only be done when environmental sealing is not critical to the application. Certain actuators may also have slightly different procedures depending on whether they were custom-ordered or if they were a discontinued version. Our current line-up of stock model actuators is the focus of this article, which is intended to give users an idea of how to rotate some of their rotatable mounting holes.
Front Mounting Hole
The standard procedure generally used for rotating the front mounting holes of most of our actuators can be followed for the following models of micro actuators:
Step 1:
Using a piece of leather or something similar to protect the shaft housing from the vice plates, clamp the shaft housing with just enough pressure to prevent it from slipping during the following steps.
Step 2:
Place a screwdriver into the stroke mounting hole.
Step 3:
Rotate the screwdriver counterclockwise to the 90° position. If this is the first-time rotating the mounting hole, some extra torque may be required.
Warning: Do not rotate mounting holes counterclockwise more than 1 turn.
Step 4:
Remove the screwdriver, and your stroke mounting hole rotation is complete.
PA-12-T & PA-12-R
Rotation of the PA-12-T and PA-12-R mounting holes can be done just by hand to screw and clip the mounting pieces into place. Below, we explain how to install the mounting ends and rotate the mounting holes of our PA-12 Micro Precision Servo Actuators:
Step 1:
Place the first M3 Nut into the rod end tip by rotating it clockwise until it reaches the bottom of the Rod End Tip.
Step 2:
Place the second M3 Nut into the rod end tip by rotating it clockwise until it reaches as far bottom as possible.
Step 3:
Screw the rod end tip clockwise into the front of the PA-12 until it reaches the farthest into the PA-12 it can.
Step 4:
Once the rod end tip reaches as far into the PA-12’s front as it can, you may rotate it slightly counterclockwise to face the mounting hole position you required. Rotation complete.
Warning: Do not rotate mounting holes counterclockwise more than 1 turn.
Rear Mounting Hole
Unfortunately, there is no method available for rotating the rear mounting holes of the models below:
PA-12-T & PA-12-R
Step 1:
Pull the removable Hinge piece behind the PA-12 in the direction facing away from the actuator to detach from the actuator. (If the Hinge piece was not yet attached, skip to step 2)
Step 2:
Rotate the detached Hinge piece 90° counterclockwise.
Step 3:
Insert the Hinge piece onto the PA-12 rear side by pressing them together into place to clip it on. Rotation complete.
Tubular Actuators
Front Mounting Hole
The standard procedure generally used for rotating the front mounting holes of most of our actuators can be followed for the following models of tubular actuators:
Step 1:
Using a piece of leather or something similar to protect the shaft housing from the vice plates, clamp the shaft housing with just enough pressure to prevent it from slipping during the following steps.
Step 2:
Place a screwdriver into the stroke mounting hole.
Step 3:
Rotate the screwdriver counterclockwise to the 90° position. If this is the first-time rotating the mounting hole, some extra torque may be required.
Warning: Do not rotate mounting holes counterclockwise more than 1 turn.
Step 4:
Remove the screwdriver, and your stroke mounting hole rotation is complete.
Rear Mounting Hole
Unfortunately, there is no method available for rotating the rear mounting holes of the models below:
Conclusion
To summarize, many actuators may need their mounting holes rotated for certain installation conditions and space requirement. By using a few tools and spending some time to follow our step-by-step guides, you too can rotate the mounting holes of an actuator to the required positions.
If you required further assistance or had more questions on how to rotate actuator mounting holes, you may call us at 1-800-676-6123 or email us at sales@progressiveautomations.com.