Every UAV payload design comes down to a budget. Not just dollars, but grams and watts. Each component you add takes weight from flight time and power from the battery. So when payload designers pick an actuator for a shutter, an optical filter holder, or a locking/release mechanism, they’re really asking three questions. How much does it weigh? How much power does it draw? And will it move exactly when and where it needs to?
Rotary solenoids answer all three better than most alternatives. Here’s why.
Weight comes first
On a hand-thrown or medium-sized UAV, every gram matters. A heavy solenoid/motor doesn’t just add its own mass. It forces structural changes around it, shifts the center of gravity, and cuts into the payload capacity that made the aircraft useful in the first place.
A miniature rotary solenoid converts electrical energy directly into rotary motion in a compact package. There’s no gearbox, no motor controller board, no extra hardware. Our smallest units fit in spaces where a motor and drivetrain never could. That simplicity is the weight savings.
Power is the second budget
Battery capacity defines mission time. A rotary solenoid that draws continuous current to hold position drains that budget fast.
This is where duty cycle planning makes the difference. Many rotary solenoid applications only need power during actuation. The solenoid fires, the shutter opens or the mechanism releases, and holds the solenoid magnetically latched in position without drawing current. When we work with UAV engineering teams, duty cycle is one of the first specifications we discuss, along with size, mass, torque, and life cycle requirements. Matching the solenoid to the actual duty cycle, rather than overspecifying, keeps power draw where it belongs.
Precision under flight conditions
A UAV is a rough environment. Vibration from the propulsion system, shock from launch and landing, and temperature swings at altitude all work against precise actuation. An optical shutter protecting an IR sensor has to open and close reliably through all of it, thousands of cycles in.
Our shutter solenoids are engineered for shock and vibration stability. They’ve flown on UAV programs ranging from small platforms to very large airframes. That field history matters more than a spec sheet. The actuation behavior you test on the bench is the behavior you get in flight.
Standard parts speed up the whole program
Payload designers also optimize something less visible: the schedule. Custom actuators mean non-recurring engineering costs and longer lead times. Our commercial off-the-shelf units like our A1265-1 bi-stable solenoid paired with a D1950-1 shutter for example, let teams start with proven hardware and reserve customization for the cases that need it. When the envelope is too tight for a standard part, we co-engineer a compact custom unit with your team, informally or under NDA.
And because our components are 100% American-made at our Connecticut facility, sourcing stays secure as your program scales from a handful of prototypes to tens of thousands of units. No foreign supply chain risk, no production interruptions.
Start with the three budgets
If you’re designing a UAV payload, bring us your envelope, your mass target, your power constraints, and your torque and life cycle requirements. Our engineers will help you find the lightest, most efficient actuation path, whether that’s a standard configuration you can order today or a custom unit built for your space.
Contact our engineering team to talk through your weight, power, and precision requirements.
