Quick Takeaways
- Festo announced a hygienic EPRF stainless-steel electric cylinder and EMMH-AS stainless-steel servo motor for washdown automation applications.
- The source says the components provide programmable linear and rotary motion with Festo CMMT-AS multiprotocol servo drives.
- The EMMH-AS uses a multi-turn absolute encoder that retains position through power cycles, according to Festo.
- Packaging teams should confirm the required environmental rating, controller architecture, cleaning process, mounting arrangement, and application-specific documentation before selection.
Industry Update
On October 13, 2026, Festo announced packaging-automation demonstrations for PACK EXPO International 2026 that include the new EPRF stainless-steel electric cylinder and EMMH-AS stainless-steel servo motor. The company positions the pairing for washdown applications where cleaning chemicals, high-pressure washing, and moisture can complicate the use of programmable electric positioning.
Festo states that the EPRF and EMMH-AS have IP69K ratings and can be combined with CMMT-AS multiprotocol servo drives for linear and rotary motion. The announcement describes compatibility with Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, and Festo PLC architectures through that drive platform.
The source also says the EMMH-AS multi-turn absolute encoder retains position through power cycles. In the illustrated application, the electric cylinder and servo motor operate alongside stainless-steel pneumatic equipment in a simulated washdown setting, showing an approach that combines electric and pneumatic automation rather than treating them as mutually exclusive.
Buyer Considerations
For packaging OEMs and food-processing equipment builders, this update puts the motion specification discussion around the actual washdown process. Buyers can compare the required ingress protection, cleaning chemistry, temperature range, cable routing, hygienic-machine design, and service access with the component documentation for their installation.
Servo-drive integration remains a separate design check. A multi-protocol drive can simplify control-architecture planning, but teams should verify the exact PLC, fieldbus, safety functions, encoder interface, axis sizing, and commissioning workflow needed for the machine. Retained position data may also change homing and restart planning, subject to the final machine risk assessment and vendor guidance.
The EPRF cylinder and EMMH-AS motor may be most relevant where automatic format changes or repeatable positioning are needed in a washdown zone. Sourcing teams should request the applicable drawings, material and seal details, environmental documentation, lead-time confirmation, and the complete motor-drive-cylinder configuration before releasing a build.
Motor series to compare for this kind of project.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Festo announce for washdown packaging automation?
Festo announced the EPRF stainless-steel electric cylinder and EMMH-AS stainless-steel servo motor as part of its PACK EXPO 2026 packaging-automation presentation.
Are the electric cylinder and servo motor intended for washdown areas?
Festo states that the EPRF and EMMH-AS are IP69K-rated and presents them for applications involving cleaning chemicals, high-pressure washdown, and moisture. Buyers should confirm suitability against their specific process and documentation requirements.
Which controls architectures does the source describe?
Festo says the products can work with CMMT-AS multiprotocol servo drives and identifies Rockwell, Siemens, Beckhoff, and Festo PLC architectures in the announcement.
What should a buyer verify before selecting this motion package?
Verify the environmental duty, cylinder stroke and force requirements, motor and drive sizing, controller and network compatibility, safety design, cleanability, mounting, cable routing, documentation, and delivery schedule for the intended machine.
Source
This article summarizes publicly available source information. Confirm technical details, pricing and compliance requirements with the original source before making purchasing decisions.
Source date: 2026-10-15