What are the most common uses for Muscle Wires? Muscle Wires are predominantly used in the aerospace industry, in the automation of manufacturing processes, and by hobbyists and robotics experimenters worldwide.
How do Muscle Wires work? At room temperature, Muscle Wires are easily stretched by a small force. However, when conducting an electric current, the wire heats and changes to a much harder form that returns to the "unstretched" shape -- the wire shortens in length with a usable amount of force, then when cooled, they relax to a taffy like state again, ready to be stretched again for reactivation.
How strong are Muscle Wires? Large wires are stronger than small ones, and strength varies with diameter. The smallest wire can lift 20 grams up against gravity and the largest can raise up to 2,000 grams (over 4.4 pounds)! The amount needed to stretch a wire when cool is about 1/6 the force exerted by the wire when heated. Our largest wire has over 110 times the strength of the smallest, so you can easily match wire strength to your needs. Muscle Wires can be stretched by up to eight percent of their length and will recover fully, but only for a few cycles.
How long do Muscle Wires last? When used in the three to five percent range, Muscle Wires can run for millions of cycles with very consistent and reliable performance.
What are the advantages of Muscle Wires? Compared to motors or solenoids, Muscle Wires have many advantages: small size, light weight, low power, a very high strength-to-weight ratio, precise control, AC or DC activation, low magnetism, long life and direct linear action.