Single Axis Robot Interchange Chart: RBLS, RTS, RBLE and RBSE Compared

October 2026 8 min read Selection Guide

Be suspicious of anyone offering a neat interchange chart for single axis robots. Linear actuators have no shared dimension convention to copy: each maker’s base profile, carriage, drive and motor interface is its own engineering. Two actuators with the same stroke and the same base width can differ in repeatability, moment capacity and every mounting interface on the machine.

So this page tells you honestly: every RFU Motion actuator is a house code, and substitution is an application conversation, not a lookup. What we can give you is the seven-point specification check that makes that conversation fast — send us the list filled in, and we will quote the right RBLS, RTS, RBLE or RBSE from the standard range.

Our range at a glance

The table below states, for every RFU Motion family, whether the designation itself is shared across the industry or is our own house code. That single distinction decides how the rest of the page applies to you.

What carries over between makers — and what does not

The 7-point check before you substitute

Fill in the seven lines and send them over — no drawing needed to start. We will reply with a family recommendation, a stroke plan and a quote from the standard range.

1. Stroke and overall length — including end positions and any tooling overhang; overall length often decides the base profile.
2. Repeatability and positioning accuracy — ball-screw units and belt units differ by an order of magnitude; know which your process needs.
3. Load and moment ratings — payload plus Ma / Mb / Mc moments; actuators die from moment overload far more often than from thrust.
4. Maximum speed, acceleration and duty cycle — this decides drive type and sizing; an underspecified duty cycle shows up as a warranty claim.
5. Motor interface — flange size, shaft diameter and connector — the interface your existing motor or new drive must mate with.
6. Environment — cleanroom class, dust, coolant, temperature; this decides between the RBLS open frame and the RTS enclosed type.
7. Drive and guidance construction — ball screw versus belt; profile guideway versus SBR supported rail. This is where the four RFU families differ from each other.

When you should not substitute

• Profile-guided for supported-rail guidance (RBLS-type for RBSE-type) without re-checking moment capacity: the guidance constructions are not equivalent structures.
• Economy units into high-duty or high-moment positions. The economy ranges exist for a duty band, not for every application the stroke fits.
• Open-frame actuators in cleanroom or washdown positions. Particle generation and corrosion rules the open RBLS out of what the RTS family is built for.
• Model-number guessing across makers. There is no cross-brand code table to lean on; anyone who gives you one has not been honest about it.

Why actuators are never model-for-model

A guide or a bushing is a component: its mounting geometry is the standard, and everything else follows. An actuator is a system — base profile, guidance, drive, motor interface and cover are designed together, and each maker’s system is its own. That is why there is no honest interchange chart here and never will be: the only reliable comparison is between your application requirements and the actuator’s specification sheet. The seven-point check above is how we run that comparison with you.

Back to the cross reference overview

HIWIN, THK, PMI, TBI MOTION, ABBA, CPC, NSK, IKO, NB, SBC and Bosch Rexroth are trademarks of their respective owners. Brand names on this page identify dimension families only and do not imply endorsement, affiliation or authorised replacement status.