Traditional thinking is that twisting or fleeting (i.e., bending about an axis perpendicular to the plane of the belt) a belt dramatically reduces its life. RISE® Cylinder is essentially a block and tackle combining the benefits of cables and belts. Compacting a belt to fit into the envelope of a hydraulic cylinder requires twisting and fleeting through this system of pulleys. The elegant mathematics at the heart of practical RISE® Technology is that belt life can be dramatically extended if the belt is twisted and fleeted at the proper ratio to reduce or manage the stress on the edges of the belt. Combining topological insights and state-of-the-art engineering practice, RISE® Cylinder contains subsystems that can be compared to the following hydraulic subsystems: Hydraulic cylinder, hydraulic accumulator, pressure relief valves, hydraulic reservoirs, and hydraulic pumps. RISE® Cylinder incorporates all of this functionality in a much smaller volume

Space requirements vary by application. A rule of thumb is that RISE® Cylinder will be about twice the diameter of a hydraulic cylinder with corresponding load capability. In highly space-constrained applications, dropping in RISE® Cylinder as a replacement will be challenging. In circumstances in which the cylinder is visible, RISE® Cylinder can usually be made to fit in the application. A key benefit of RISE® Cylinders is that the cylinders can be separated from their “belt power units” (point at white housing area on cylinder), which can be located elsewhere to provide power remotely to the cylinder. This is a design feature analogous to routing hydraulic hoses to hydraulic cylinders that is difficult to apply to obtain with competing electromechanical actuator architectures.

The cost of a RISE® Technology solution is comparable to that of a current hydraulic system. It is important to take a system view. The higher cost of today’s low-volume RISE® Cylinder compared to a traditional hydraulic cylinder can be offset by reducing or eliminating the hydraulic system’s fluid, reservoir, pumps, valves, blocks, seals, lines, and hoses, not to mention the cooling system and maintenance costs. We encourage interested clients to support a feasibility study to determine how RISE® Technology can benefit their customers and what the system would cost.

For battery-electric machines, it's also important to consider the reduction in battery size, recharge time and/or time between charges made possible with the application of RISE® Cylinder. By reducing the energy required for actuation from 65% to as much as 90% when regeneration is possible, the power needed to run the machine is often at least 50% less than a similarly operating electro-hydraulic machine. RISE® Technology is power source agnostic, so whatever the power source, a machine with RISE® Inside will use substantially less of whatever the fuel is that powers it.

Depending on the use case, One could expect anywhere between 75% to 95% energy savings regardless of energy source.

Several key benefits compared to a hydraulic cylinder include:

RISE® Cylinder requires far less power, which can reduce the energy consumption of articulation by 65-90%, which typically results in greater than 50% total net energy consumed at a machine or system level. This lower power requirement enables battery-electric medium and heavy-duty machinery to use a smaller power supply for both charging and operation.

RISE® Cylinder Is one serviceable object (part) which delivers power density comparable to hydraulic actuators.

With RISE® Cylinder, the compact envelope of the technology reduces the total footprint of the system, dramatically freeing up valuable space and access to other components.

Because fluid-free RISE® Technology has no fluid to leak and allows no contaminants to enter the system, uncommanded motion so common in hydraulic systems is completely eliminated.

RISE® Cylinder includes on-board diagnostics for easy maintenance, with power handling components that are fundamentally better suited to being monitored by OBD. Unlike hydraulic hoses, our belt drives can be monitored proactively for issues prior to their failure in service.

RISE® Technology is often applied where traditional linear actuators fall short of the force, speed and/or stroke requirements of the application or are simply too expensive or heavy. RISE® Cylinder is a fluid-free, electromechanical replacement for hydraulic cylinders. The company owns substantial IP around compartmentalizing the steel-reinforced polyurethane belts originally developed for high-speed elevators into a package size compatible with traditional hydraulic cylinders. RISE® Cylinder weight is significantly less than a traditional hydraulic system and eliminates the fluid, reservoir, pumps, valves, blocks, lines, hoses, and seals, not to mention the leaks. We have demonstrated RISE® Cylinder can easily provide the forces, speeds, and stroke of traditional hydraulic cylinders--and RISE® Cylinder can be set up to push, pull or push and pull with equal strength.

There are three environmental implications worth discussing, depending upon the interests of a potential client: carbon emissions, noise and fluid contamination both from hydraulic oil and coolant.

RISE® Cylinder reduces 65-90% less energy than a hydraulic cylinder, which typically represents half or more of the energy requirement for a vehicle, RISE® Technology is power source agnostic. Whatever the fuel used to create power, a machine with RISE® Inside will use far less and create far fewer emissions as a result.

Noise is a significant environmental concern in many applications, whether rural or urban. Construction and mine sites, for example, often have a spectator sound power limit that municipalities are systematically tightening.

Just one liter of leaked oil potentially pollutes up to one million liters of water. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), more than 700 million gal (2.65 billion liters!) of petroleum products enter the environment each year. Around half of this volume comes from irresponsible and illegal disposal. Hydraulics’ contribution, according to hose manufacturer Gates, is 98 million gal (370 million liters). This represents how much oil leaks from hydraulic equipment each year. These are staggering statistics, especially when the NOAA states that as little as one liter of oil can pollute up to one million liters of water.

Antifreeze can pollute groundwater, surface water, and drinking water supplies if dumped, spilled or leaked, and is harmful to marine and aquatic life. While in an engine, antifreeze can become contaminated with lead or fuel to the point where it must be managed as a hazardous waste.