Rigid belt actuator

The actuator is a belt and pinion device that forms a telescoping beam or column member to transmit traction and thrust.

Rigid belt actuators can move dynamic loads up to approximately 230 pounds over about 3 feet of travel.

As the pinions spin, the belts are rotated 90 degrees through the housing, which interlocks the blocks like a zipper into a rigid linear form.

Because the actuating member can fold on itself, it can be stored relatively compactly in a storage magazine, either in an overlapping or coiled arrangement.

But, while the interlocking chain actuator has been around since the middle of the 20th century, rigid belt technology didn't emerge until the new millennium.