At the technology evening of 22 January, Dewald Smit from Festo presented on the choice: ‘Pneumatic vs Electric Automation Energy Efficiency’.
Ann DeBeer (right) thanks Dewalt Smit for the presentation.
In these tough economic times, all of us would like to save money in our factories. In making the decision between pneumatic and electric actuators, there are some key questions to ask like: Are there more tasks than clamping and holding? Are there long strokes, high speed and shorter cycle times required? Is smooth motion required? If all the answers to the above questions are no, use pneumatic, if one answer is yes, use electric drives.
Both technologies have their strengths and weaknesses. Pneumatic is easy to install and cost efficient, yet there could be energy losses from leakages that cost money. Electric, on the other hand, requires higher initial investment, but is load dependent when it comes to use of energy, so a saving in the long run is possible.
SAIMC Zambia SAIMC
SAIMC News
SAIMC Zambia marked its 21st anniversary with the annual SAIMC Banquet, held on 29 November 2025 at Mukwa Lodge in Kitwe, Zambia.
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SAIMC
The SAIMC Durban Branch closed off its 2025 technology meetings with an exceptionally well-attended session on selecting and applying signal transducers.
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SAIMC
The SAIMC Durban branch hosted its much-anticipated annual year-end dinner at the Mount Edgecombe Country Club on 22 November 2025. Durban’s summer weather provided the perfect backdrop for a warm, ...
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SAIMC
At the Durban branch of the SAIMC held in October, Mitch Naidoo took the attendees on an interesting journey on Asset Health Management: Tracking The Pulse Of Your Plant.
Read more...SAIMC: Durban branch SAIMC
SAIMC
At the Durban branch of the SAIMC held in October, Mitch Naidoo took the attendees on an interesting journey on Asset Health Management: Tracking The Pulse Of Your Plant.
Read more...SAIMC: Johannesburg branch SAIMC
SAIMC
The SAIMC Johannesburg Branch technical evening was hosted by Proconics Advanced Solutions. The topic of the session was ‘Turning Big 3D Data into Actionable Engineering Insights – Challenges and Smart Solutions’.
Read more...SAIMC User Advisory Council Annual Summit 2025 SAIMC
SAIMC
October 2025 marked a pivotal moment for the South African automation and manufacturing community as the SAIMC User Advisory Council hosted its first annual summit under the SAIMC banner.
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SAIMC
The Johannesburg Branch of the SAIMC hosted a successful Technology Evening on 10 September. The event was well attended and generously sponsored by Phoenix Contact.
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