\n29V<\/td>\n Also common, often where more speed or force is wanted from the same actuator<\/td>\n Confirm the control box and actuators are rated for it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nOne detail matters more than the nominal value: actuators in this class operate over a wide voltage window<\/strong> \u2014 a 24V actuator may be specified from around 18V to 30V, for example. That tolerance is useful, because it means a modest sag under peak load does not necessarily stop the movement, but it is not an excuse for a supply that droops under its own rated load.<\/p>\nIt also means the supply’s regulation and the actuator’s window have to be considered together. A supply whose output sits low, plus a long cable and a peak load, can leave the control box at the bottom of a range it was not designed to sit in.<\/p>\n
What the control box does<\/h2>\n The supply feeds a control box rather than the actuators directly, and that changes what the supply is asked to tolerate.<\/p>\n
\nThe control box sequences the actuators,<\/strong> decides which moves are permitted, and often holds the radio receiver for the handset or remote.<\/li>\nIt presents a switched load.<\/strong> What the supply sees is not one motor but a step change each time an actuator starts, and the combination depends on how many actuators run together.<\/li>\nIt may include backup behaviour.<\/strong> Some designs carry a small backup battery so the furniture can complete a movement, or return to a safe position, during a mains interruption.<\/li>\nIt is the natural place to put the DC connector,<\/strong> which is why the connector and pinout are usually specified by the furniture designer rather than the supply vendor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nBecause the control box is the load, the supply specification should always be written against the control box’s stated input, including its peak \u2014 not against a single actuator’s rating multiplied by a guess.<\/p>\n100% ATE functional test before shipment \u2014 every unit, not a sample.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nInrush and stall current<\/h2>\n Two current events decide whether the supply feels adequate, and they are different in kind.<\/p>\n
\nInrush at start.<\/strong> A DC motor accelerating from rest draws a peak well above its running current, and it does so every time a movement begins.<\/li>\nStall current at the end of travel.<\/strong> When an actuator reaches its limit, or meets an obstruction, current rises to the stall value until the control box or the actuator’s own limit switch stops it.<\/li>\nBoth events are shorter than the supply’s thermal time constant,<\/strong> which is why a supply can be thermally comfortable and electrically inadequate at the same time.<\/li>\nVoltage sag is how the user experiences the difference.<\/strong> A supply that cannot hold up under the peak produces slower movement, a control box reset, or an occasional refusal to complete a move.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe right question for a supplier is what the output does during the worst single movement, not what the steady-state regulation figure says.<\/p>\n
Position memory at power failure<\/h2>\n One feature of this category is unusual enough to be worth understanding, because it changes the supply’s job.<\/p>\n
\nFurniture that cannot move is furniture the customer is stuck in.<\/strong> A recliner that will not return to its upright position during a power cut is a comfort problem; an adjustable bed in a raised position can be a care problem.<\/li>\nSome designs solve it inside the supply.<\/strong> Products in this category carry a small backup battery so the control electronics retain state and can complete a movement when mains power is lost.<\/li>\nOthers solve it in the control box.<\/strong> The backup then lives separately, and the supply’s role is only to charge it and to behave predictably when mains is lost and restored.<\/li>\nEither way, the behaviour on restore matters.<\/strong> The system should come back to a known state rather than starting a movement as power returns, and the supply’s start-up behaviour is part of that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nIf you are specifying a product where the users may not be able to move themselves, state the requirement explicitly. It is a design decision that is easy to leave implicit and expensive to add later.<\/p>\n
Acoustics: a recliner in a living room<\/h2>\n Motion furniture is usually bought as part of the furniture experience, and the supply contributes to it.<\/p>\n
\nThe room is quiet and the movement is slow.<\/strong> An actuator moves at a speed the user can hear, and any electrical noise from the supply during a movement is audible against that.<\/li>\nStandby noise is the worse case.<\/strong> A supply that buzzes or whistles while doing nothing is noticed in a living room in the evening, in a way that would never be noticed in a workshop.<\/li>\nSwitching artefacts at light load are the usual cause,<\/strong> which is precisely the condition a recliner sits in for most of its life.<\/li>\nTest at no load and under load.<\/strong> Acoustic behaviour at light load and during a movement are different problems and are fixed in different ways.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nA standalone requirement in plain language \u2014 no audible noise in a quiet room at one metre, at no load and during a movement \u2014 is cheap to specify and surprisingly effective.<\/p>\n
Thermal: a supply inside a sofa frame<\/h2>\n Where the supply lives determines its thermal environment, and in this category it is often the worst place in the product.<\/p>\n
\nInside a sofa or bed frame.<\/strong> Enclosed, unventilated and sometimes upholstered over, which removes convection almost entirely.<\/li>\nNear a power recliner’s motor and control box,<\/strong> which add their own heat during a movement.<\/li>\nIn a home with no airflow management.<\/strong> The supply cannot rely on being installed with clearance; assume it will not be.<\/li>\nSo the derating curve is the specification.<\/strong> Ask for the output available at the temperature inside the frame, not a figure measured on an open bench.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nBecause the duty is intermittent, a well-designed supply survives this environment comfortably. A supply designed for continuous operation in open air does not, and the failure appears after months rather than in a test.<\/p>\n
Household furniture or medical furniture?<\/h2>\n This is the fork that changes the whole compliance picture, and it is decided by the end use rather than by the hardware.<\/p>\n
\nHousehold motion furniture<\/strong> is a consumer furniture product, and the supply is an information-technology-style mains product governed by the general safety standard for such equipment.<\/li>\nAn adjustable bed sold as a medical device<\/strong> pulls the entire system into the medical regime, where the medical safety standard and its isolation requirements apply to the supply as part of the equipment.<\/li>\nThe same actuator and the same control box can sit behind both,<\/strong> which is why suppliers who do not ask about the end use will quote the wrong construction.<\/li>\nDecide it in writing.<\/strong> Whether the product is a comfort product or a care product should be stated in the RFQ, and it should be stated once, clearly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nFor a brand selling into both segments, the practical advice is to treat the medical variant as a separate programme rather than as a variant of the household one.<\/p>\n
Standing desks: a different duty profile<\/h2>\n Standing desks share the voltage and the actuator technology, but the usage pattern is different enough to change the specification.<\/p>\n
\nTwo or more actuators on one supply.<\/strong> Most desks drive two legs simultaneously, so the peak is the sum of two motors starting together rather than one.<\/li>\nThe duty cycle is even shorter in practice.<\/strong> A desk moves a few times a day; each movement is brief and the idle periods are long.<\/li>\nStandby is the dominant energy number,<\/strong> because the desk is idle almost all the time. Sub-half-watt behaviour and a receiver that sleeps properly are the difference between a compliant product and a non-compliant one.<\/li>\nAnti-collision behaviour is a load event.<\/strong> When the desk meets an obstruction it reverses, and the detection and reversal happen in the electrical domain, so the supply’s stability during a stall matters.<\/li>\nThe mechanical safety requirements are a separate discipline.<\/strong> Pinch and crush prevention is addressed in the desk’s own design, but the supply must not undermine it by behaving unpredictably.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nThe useful summary for desks: size for two motors starting together, design for an idle life, and specify standby as a number.<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat to put in the RFQ<\/h2>\n These lines are what a supplier needs in order to design something that survives the load pattern rather than only passing a bench test.<\/p>\n
\nThe control box’s stated input<\/strong> \u2014 voltage, nominal current and peak current \u2014 and how many actuators it drives.<\/li>\nSimultaneous start behaviour,<\/strong> because two actuators starting together is not the same load as two running separately.<\/li>\nThe duty cycle<\/strong> the product will actually see, and how many consecutive movements a user typically makes.<\/li>\nThe standby budget,<\/strong> including the receiver’s consumption, and the market requirement you are designing to.<\/li>\nThe connector and pinout,<\/strong> by part number, polarity and current rating.<\/li>\nThe mounting position<\/strong> inside the frame, and the temperature it will reach.<\/li>\nThe end use<\/strong> \u2014 household furniture or a medical device \u2014 because it sets the certification route.<\/li>\nWhether position memory or backup behaviour<\/strong> is required, and where it lives.<\/li>\nAcoustic requirements<\/strong>, stated plainly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nOur sample evaluation checklist<\/a> and the OEM agreement guide<\/a> cover how to hold these points through production.<\/p>\nLinear actuator power supply OEM specification table<\/h2>\n
\n\n\nParameter<\/th>\n Typical for motion furniture and desks<\/th>\n Note<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n\nOutput<\/td>\n 24V or 29V DC, roughly 36W to 90W nominal<\/td>\n Set by the control box and actuator rating<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nPeak current<\/td>\n Around twice the nominal figure, sustained for a single movement<\/td>\n The qualification that matters most<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nProtection threshold<\/td>\n Set above the peak, not at the nominal<\/td>\n Protection at nominal turns normal use into a fault<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nDuty cycle<\/td>\n Short bursts with long recovery \u2014 around a minute on, several off<\/td>\n Thermal design follows the burst, not the average<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nStandby<\/td>\n Below 0.5W at no load, including the wireless receiver<\/td>\n A regulated figure, and the dominant energy number<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nActuator window<\/td>\n Wide, for example 18V to 30V around a 24V rating<\/td>\n Tolerance, not a licence to droop<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nThermal environment<\/td>\n Enclosed inside a frame, often upholstered over<\/td>\n Use the derating curve for that temperature<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nConnector<\/td>\n Defined by the control box, by part number and polarity<\/td>\n Specify the pinout explicitly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nAcoustics<\/td>\n No audible noise at no load or during a movement<\/td>\n A living-room product feature<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \nEnd use<\/td>\n Household furniture, or a medical device if sold as care equipment<\/td>\n Sets the certification route for the whole system<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\nBurn-in on the aging rack \u2014 where marginal units are found before they ship.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFinished-goods warehouse \u2014 motion furniture programmes ship in batches matched to furniture build schedules.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFrequently asked questions<\/h2>\nWhat power supply does a recliner or adjustable bed need?<\/h3>\n Usually a 24V or 29V DC external adapter in the 36W to 90W class, feeding a control box that drives the actuators.<\/strong> The nominal figure is less important than the peak current it sustains and its standby consumption, because the load is briefly heavy and otherwise absent.<\/p>\nWhy does the datasheet show twice the nominal current?<\/h3>\n Because motion furniture adapters are specified on their peak, not only their continuous rating.<\/strong> A typical unit rated around 29V at 2A states a maximum current near 4A, with overload protection set higher still \u2014 the supply is expected to deliver roughly twice its nominal figure in normal use.<\/p>\nWhat duty cycle applies to linear actuators?<\/h3>\n A short one \u2014 commonly around a minute on followed by several minutes off, with a maximum continuous run of a couple of minutes.<\/strong> The thermal design should follow that burst pattern, and repeated movements in succession are the case worth testing.<\/p>\nWhy does standby power matter so much here?<\/h3>\n Because the load is absent almost all the time, so standby dominates the energy picture \u2014 and it is regulated.<\/strong> Adapters in this category are commonly specified below 0.5W at no load, and a wireless receiver that stays awake has to fit inside the same budget.<\/p>\nIs 24V or 29V the right voltage?<\/h3>\n It is set by the actuator and control box, and both rails are common.<\/strong> What matters more is that actuators in this class tolerate a wide window \u2014 a 24V actuator may be rated from roughly 18V to 30V \u2014 so the supply’s regulation and the actuator’s window should be considered together rather than in isolation.<\/p>\nWhat causes a slow or incomplete movement?<\/h3>\n Usually voltage sag during the current peak.<\/strong> Start-up inrush and stall current at the end of travel are both well above the running figure, and a supply that cannot hold up through them produces slower movement, a control box reset, or an occasional refusal to complete a move.<\/p>\nWhy does the supply need position memory or a backup battery?<\/h3>\n Because furniture that cannot move leaves the user stuck.<\/strong> Some designs put a small backup battery inside the supply so the control electronics retain state and can complete a movement during a power cut; others put it in the control box. Either way, the behaviour on power restore should be predictable.<\/p>\nDoes an adjustable bed need a different power supply from a sofa?<\/h3>\n It depends on how the bed is sold.<\/strong> Household motion furniture uses a general-purpose mains supply, while a bed sold as a medical device pulls the whole system into the medical regime, where the medical safety standard and its isolation requirements apply to the supply too. State the end use in the RFQ.<\/p>\nWhat MOQ and lead time apply for actuator power supplies?<\/h3>\n From 200 pcs per model at Paiyi Power, with samples in about a week and first production 5\u20136 weeks after sample approval.<\/strong> We build external supplies from 5W to 240W and can supply the peak-current, standby and thermal data your specification needs. See also electric gate power supplies<\/a> for the same motor-load logic in a different application.<\/p>\n