IAI

Manufacturer information and published contact details

IAI contact details

Head office

1210 Iharacho, Shimizu-ku
Shizuoka City, Shizuoka 424-0114
Japan

Telephone +81 54 364 5301

Website iai-robot.co.jp

UK sales partner (LC Automation)

Duttons Way, Shadsworth Business Park
Blackburn, Lancashire BB1 2QR
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 1254 685900

Web iai-automation.com/en/sales-worldwide.html

European headquarters (IAI Industrieroboter GmbH)

Ober der Roeth 4
65824 Schwalbach
Germany

Telephone +49 6196 8895-0

Email info@iai-automation.com

Web iai-automation.com/en/imprint.html

USA (IAI America, Intelligent Actuator, Inc.)

Torrance, California
United States

Telephone +1 310 891 6015

Web intelligentactuator.com/iai-america

Show IAI headquarters on the map Open in Google Maps →

Contact details as published by IAI Corporation, checked 2026-10-30. Specify Motion is not affiliated with IAI Corporation.

IAI product lines

Who IAI is

IAI Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of electric actuators and small industrial robots, based in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka. Its corporate profile describes the business as the development, design, manufacture and sale of small industrial robots, and gives 1,483 employees as of April 2026. Outside Japan the products are often known by the IntelligentActuator name and by the ROBO Cylinder brand.

For OEM design engineers, IAI is a source of ready-made electric single-axis actuators with matching controllers. Its products are often used to replace pneumatic cylinders on assembly, test and packaging machines. The selling point is a catalogue range in which the actuator, motor, encoder and controller are designed to work together. The trade-off is that you are tied to IAI’s controller family for each axis.

History and ownership

IAI was founded on 3 April 1976 in Shizuoka as a robot systems house and automation consulting centre. It began making its own linear axes in 1981 and launched the IntelligentActuator product line as a brand in 1986. IAI America followed in Los Angeles in 1989, and IAI Industrieroboter GmbH was founded near Frankfurt in 1995 to cover European sales and service.

The RoboCylinder electric cylinder arrived in 1999, positioned from the start as an alternative to pneumatic cylinders. IX SCARA robots followed in 2002, and linear servo (LSA) actuators and tabletop robots in 2005. In 2015 the RCP5 introduced battery-less absolute encoders. The RCP6 and RCS4 series came in 2016, and the ELECYLINDER line was expanded heavily from 2018. Recent additions include the RCON controller (2020), ISB long-stroke sliders (2021), IFA belt actuators (2023) and the SCON2 controller with new safety functions (2025). In 2024 IAI moved into a new factory and headquarters in Shizuoka.

IAI Corporation has capital of ¥30 million. Tohru Ishida is representative director and president, and the German subsidiary’s imprint also names him as its representative.

Actuator portfolio

ROBO Cylinder

The ROBO Cylinder family covers sliders, rods, radial cylinders, tables, grippers and rotary units. Across the family IAI quotes strokes from 50 to 1,000 mm, speeds of 1 to 1,000 mm/s and ±0.02 mm repeatability, with longer strokes and faster speeds on specific series.

• The RCP6 uses stepper motors with a battery-less absolute encoder as standard. It reaches up to 1,100 mm stroke, about 1,440 mm/s and ±0.005 mm repeatability on coupled slider models. Horizontal payloads reach about 100 kg.
• The RCS4 is the AC servo equivalent, with 60 to 400 W motors. Series maxima are 1,100 mm stroke, 2,200 mm/s on the SA8C with a 48 mm lead, 100 kg horizontal and 72 kg vertical payload.

Choosing between them is the usual servo vs stepper decision. A stepper axis is cheaper and holds position stiffly at low speed, but loses thrust as speed rises. A servo axis keeps torque at speed and suits fast, heavily loaded moves.

ELECYLINDER

The ELECYLINDER puts the controller inside the actuator body. It can be run from simple on/off signals, like a solenoid valve, with speed and acceleration set as percentages. The range spans sliders, rods, grippers, rotary units and stoppers. Large sliders reach 2,800 mm stroke and up to 400 kg payload, and radial cylinders up to 6,000 N push force. Rod types are rated IP67.

Small and linear motor actuators

The RCD micro cylinder has a 12 mm cross-section and a body as short as 60 mm, driven by a brushless DC motor at up to 300 mm/s. At the other end, IAI’s LSA linear servo actuators reach up to 2.5 m/s and 4 m stroke.

Controllers and robots

IAI makes the controllers for its axes, from single-axis position controllers to the RCON network gateway and the R-unit family (RCON, REC, RSEL). It also builds Cartesian robots from its own axes, IX and IXA SCARA robots, TTA tabletop robots and servo presses. When sizing a replacement, note the controller generation as well as the actuator model, because cables and encoders vary between generations.

For general sizing of thrust, speed and duty, see our linear actuator sizing guide.

Industries served

IAI’s actuators are common in electronics and semiconductor assembly, automotive component assembly, test and inspection, food and medical device packaging, and laboratory automation. Cleanroom and dust- and splash-proof versions are offered across the main ranges.

Global and UK presence

IAI Industrieroboter GmbH, Ober der Roeth 4, 65824 Schwalbach, Germany, is the European headquarters. It works with sales partners in 20 countries. For Great Britain, IAI lists LC Automation, Duttons Way, Shadsworth Business Park, Blackburn, on +44 1254 685900. For Ireland it lists Reliance Automation, with branches in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. IAI America serves North America from Torrance, California.

Specify Motion and IAI

Specify Motion is independent of IAI and is not affiliated with it. We can help source IAI actuators or propose electric actuators from our supply network that meet the same published stroke, speed, payload and repeatability figures, confirmed by an engineer. Use find a replacement or our linear actuators hub.

IAI history: key dates

1. 1976IAI founded in Shizuoka as a robot systems and automation consulting business
2. 1986IntelligentActuator product line launched as an independent brand
3. 1989IAI America founded in Los Angeles
4. 1995IAI Industrieroboter GmbH founded near Frankfurt for European sales and service
5. 1999RoboCylinder electric cylinders introduced as an alternative to pneumatics
6. 2015RCP5 series with battery-less absolute encoders launched
7. 2016RCP6 and RCS4 series introduced
8. 2024IAI Corporation moves into a new factory and headquarters in Shizuoka

IAI linear actuators

Rodless screw actuator

ROBO Cylinder RCP6

Stepper-motor ROBO Cylinder range in slider, wide slider, rod, radial cylinder and table forms with a battery-less absolute encoder as standard; strokes 25 to 1,100 mm, up to about 1,440 mm/s and ±0.005 mm repeatability on coupled slider types (series maxima).

Rodless screw actuator

ROBO Cylinder RCS4

AC servo ROBO Cylinder with 60 to 400 W motors and battery-less absolute encoders; series maxima of 1,100 mm stroke, 2,200 mm/s (SA8C, 48 mm lead), 100 kg horizontal payload and ±0.005 mm repeatability on high-precision versions.

Integrated-motor actuator

ELECYLINDER

IAI's simplified electric actuator family with motor, encoder and controller in the body, run from simple on/off signals; slider types reach strokes of up to 2,800 mm and payloads of up to 400 kg in the large series, and radial cylinders up to 6,000 N push force (series maxima).

Compact actuator

RCD micro cylinder

Micro ROBO Cylinder with a newly developed brushless DC motor, a 12 mm cross-section and a body as short as 60 mm, moving at up to 300 mm/s with up to 1 G acceleration.