RS and Festo Make Smart Electric Motion Accessible

May 11, 2026

RS now offers Festo’s Simplified Motion Series electromechanical actuators, also known as electric drive systems, which combine drive mechanics, motors, and servo drives to make smart electric motion accessible to even small and mid-sized organizations in the industrial manufacturing and intralogistics industries.  

While the Industry 4.0 automation, electrification, digitalization, and sustainability trends have been active for over a decade, making the switch from mature technologies, like pneumatic actuators, to more advanced technologies, like smart, integrated electromechanical actuators, was initially out of reach for all but the largest, most lucrative industrial operations. Increased adoption of advanced industrial technologies over time has expanded market demand for smart solutions and has made it possible for even small and mid-sized industrial organizations to achieve cost parity when implementing these solutions, which still often come with a higher upfront cost than mature solutions.

For example, while it’s less expensive for OEMs to build a pneumatic drive system than an electric drive system, the total operating cost for smart, integrated electric drive systems, like Festo’s Simplified Motion Series, tends to be much lower than that of pneumatic systems. 

The smart, cost-optimized linear and rotary electromechanical actuators in Festo’s Simplified Motion Series are designed to combine the simplicity of pneumatics with the ample advantages of electric actuator technology and provide cost-effective electric drive solutions for simple motion and positioning tasks, such as repositioning, aligning, feeding, sorting, clamping, ejecting, and stopping.

They’re optimized for simple movements between two mechanical end positions but exhibit advanced motion characteristics — including gently cushioned travel into the end position, simplified press-fitting and clamping functions, and the use of intermediate positions — and are especially well-suited for industrial customers just beginning to make the transition from pneumatic motion control to electric motion control in order to enhance efficiency, productivity, and data-driven decision-making.

Ideal applications for the series extend throughout the industrial manufacturing and logistics industries and include industrial production lines, automated storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), parcel elevators, and Cartesian robots used for high-speed bin picking, sorting, assembly, material handling, packaging, and palletizing.

Festo Simplified Motion Series electromechanical actuators feature space-saving, application-optimized combinations of drive mechanics, motors, and servo drives, and — unlike more complex systems that require external servo drives — are based on the plug-and-work principle, which makes them quick, easy, and cost-effective to install, set up, and commission without a computer, software, or the need for a control cabinet and helps increase productivity. Users simply install the actuators, run power and communication cables to them, and use the integrated digital I/O (DIO) protocol to configure basic functions, like speed and force, reference end positioning and cushioning, and end positions.

They can also use the integrated IO-Link protocol to leverage additional functions, including remote configuration for motion parameters, read functions for process parameters, copy and backup functions for transferring parameters between actuators and computers, and intermediate position adjustments. This allows legacy customers, who are very familiar and comfortable with pneumatic motion, to control them the same way they controlled their pneumatic assemblies, which prevents them from having to learn any programming, put an amplifier in a cabinet, and run cables from the drive to the motor and encoder and saves both time and money.

Additionally, when used to replace pneumatic actuators, these smart, integrated electromechanical actuators or electric drive systems eliminate the need for compressors, air preparation equipment, refrigerated air dryers, and air lines along with their associated device and maintenance costs and efficiency losses. 

The Festo Simplified Motion Series is available in six subcategories. 

The linear motion side of the Simplified Motion Series range includes:

• Ball-screw axis ELGS-BS electromechanical actuators, which feature a powerful ball screw and precise, resilient recirculating ball bearing guide for the slide, exhibit accurate positioning and high feed force, and are extremely compact and cost effective.
• Toothed-belt axis ELGS-TB electromechanical actuators, which feature a timing belt that attaches to a carriage, have an idler pulley at one end and a drive pully attached to the motor at the other, and are ideal for high-speed or long-stroke applications. They also have a precise, resilient recirculating ball bearing guide for the slide and a durable toothed belt and are compact and extremely cost effective.  
• Mini slide EGSS electromechanical actuators with smooth-running ball screws, which are powerful, resilient, and precise and are ideally suited for guided individual linear movements and vertical Z-axis movement.  
• EPCE and EPCS electromechanical actuators, which serve as direct replacements (albeit not drop-in replacements due to the integrated motor) for pneumatic cylinders in terms of nose mounting, how they attach to your load, and the way they look and behave. EPCE actuators offer short strokes and cycle times and excellent value for the money and are ideal for testing, inspection, and labeling systems, simple centering tasks, and aligning workpieces. EPCS actuators feature smooth-running ball screws ideal for individual linear movement, provide extremely cost-effective complete solutions, and are ideal for applications including clamping, distributing, sorting, and ejecting. They can also act as a simple Z-axis in material handling systems. 

On the rotary motion side of the Simplified Motion Series, you have the rotary ERMS electromechanical actuator, which features sturdy, precise, and backlash-free ball bearings on the rotary plate that effectively absorb the transverse loads and torques of increased mechanical loads and are ideal for applications including simple swiveling tasks, diverters, and small sweeps in intralogistics applications. 

“Historically speaking, the cost gap between pneumatic drive systems and electric drive systems has been — and can still be — very large,” said Frank Vanderpool, Industry Segment Manager – Intralogistics at Festo. “The Festo Simplified Motion Series is a cost-optimized solution that lands squarely in the middle of those and can even be closer to pneumatic than electric drive pricing, depending on the application. However, it’s important to note that just because it’s a lower-cost solution doesn’t mean that it’s cheap. These purpose-built, industrial-grade electromechanical actuators go through the same rigorous development and testing processes as our premium electric automation equipment and deliver robust, reliable performance in a wide range of industrial applications that require simple motion and positioning tasks.”

https://us.rs-online.com/newsroom/2605-festo-smart-electric-motion