Actuator

What is an actuator?
An actuator is a device that produces a motion by converting energy and signals going into the
system.
The motion it produces can be either rotary or linear.
Electric linear actuators, as the name implies, produce linear motion.
 This means that linear actuators can move forward or backwards on a set linear plane – a
set distance they can travel in either direction before they must stop.
Rotary actuators on the other hand produce rotary motion, meaning that the actuator revolves on
a circular plane.
 Unlike the linear actuator, the rotary actuator is not limited by a set path, which means it
can keep rotating in the same direction for as long as necessary.

Types of actuators
Soft actuator
 A soft actuator is one that changes its shape in response to stimuli including mechanical,
thermal, magnetic, and electrical.
 Soft actuators mainly deal with the robotics of humans rather than industry which is what
most of the actuators are used for.
 For most actuators they are mechanically durable yet do not have an ability to adapt
compared to soft actuators.
 The soft actuators apply to mainly safety and healthcare for humans which is why they are
able to adapt to environments by disassembling their parts.
 This is why the driven energy behind soft actuators deal with flexible materials like certain
polymers and liquids that are harmless to humans.
Hydraulic
Main article: Hydraulic actuator
 The hydraulic actuator consists of cylinder or fluid motor that uses hydraulic power to
facilitate mechanical operation.
 The mechanical motion gives an output in terms of linear, rotatory or oscillatory motion.
 As liquids are nearly impossible to compress, a hydraulic actuator can exert a large force.
 The drawback of this approach is its limited acceleration.

The hydraulic cylinder consists of a hollow cylindrical tube along which a piston can slide.
 The term single acting is used when the fluid pressure is applied to just one side of the
piston.
 The piston can move in only one direction; a spring being frequently used to give the piston
a return stroke.
 The term double acting is used when pressure is applied on each side of the piston; any
difference in force between the two sides of the piston moves the piston to one side or the
other.[4]

Pneumatic
Main article: Pneumatic actuator
 Pneumatic actuators enable considerable forces to be produced from relatively small
pressure changes.
 Pneumatic energy is desirable for main engine controls because it can quickly respond in
starting and stopping as the power source does not need to be stored in reserve for
operation.
 Moreover, pneumatic actuators are cheaper, and often more powerful than other actuators.
 These forces are often used with valves to move diaphragms to affect the flow of air
through the valve.
The advantage of pneumatic actuators consists exactly in the high level of force available in a
relatively small volume.
While the main drawback of the technology consists in the need for a compressed air network
composed of several components such as compressors, reservoirs, filters, dryers, air treatment
subsystems, valves, tubes, etc. which makes the technology energy inefficient with energy losses
that can sum up to 95%
Electric
Main article: Electric motor
Since 1960, several actuator technologies have been developed, Electric actuators can be
classified in the following groups:
Electromechanical actuator (EMA)
It converts the rotational force of an electric rotary motor into a linear movement to generate
the requested linear movement through a mechanism either a belt (Belt Drive axis with stepper
or servo) or a screw (either a ball or a lead screw or planetary roller screw )
The main advantages of electromechanical actuators are their relatively good level of accuracy
with respect to pneumatics, their possible long lifecycle and the little maintenance effort
required (might require grease). It is possible to reach relatively high force, on the order of
100 kN.
The main limitation of these actuators are the reachable speed, the important dimensions and
weight they require. While the main application of such actuators is mainly seen in health care
devices and factory automation.

Electrohydraulic actuator
Another approach is an electrohydraulic actuator, where the electric motor remains the prime
mover but provides torque to operate a hydraulic accumulator that is then used to transmit
actuation force in much the same way that diesel engine/hydraulics are typically used in heavy
equipment.
Electrical energy is used to actuate equipment such as multi-turn valves, or electric-
powered construction and excavation equipment.
When used to control the flow of fluid through a valve, a brake is typically installed above the
motor to prevent the fluid pressure from forcing open the valve. If no brake is installed, the
actuator gets activated to reclose the valve, which is slowly forced open again. This sets up an
oscillation (open, close, open ...) and the motor and actuator will eventually become damaged.
[7]

Linear motor
Linear motors are different from electromechanical actuators, they work with the same principle
as electric rotary motors, in effect it can be thought as a rotary motor which has been cut and
unrolled. Thus, instead of producing a rotational movement, they produce a linear force along
their length. Because linear motors cause lower friction losses than other devices, some linear
motor products can last over a hundred million cycles.
Linear motors are divided in 3 basic categories: flat linear motor (classic), U-Channel linear
motors and Tubular linear motors.
Linear motor technology is the best solution in the context of a low load (up to 30Kgs) because
it provides the highest level of speed, control and accuracy.
 In fact, it represents the most desired and versatile technology. Due to the limitations of
pneumatics, the current electric actuator technology is a viable solution for specific industry
applications and it has been successfully introduced in market segments such as the
watchmaking, semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries (as high as 60% of the
applications. The growing interest for this technology, can be explained by the following
characteristics:
High precision (equal or less than 0,1 mm);
High cycling rate (greater than 100 cycles/min);
Possible usage in clean and highly-regulated environments (no leakages of air, humidity or
lubricants allowed);
Need for programmable motion in the situation of complex operations
The main disadvantages of linear motors are:
They are expensive respect to pneumatics and other electric technologies.
They are not easy to integrate in standard machineries due to their important size and high
weight.
They have a low force density respect to pneumatic and electromechanical actuators.

Rotary motor
Main article: Rotary motor
Rotary motors are actuators that use a piece of energy to form an oscillatory motion at a
certain angle of movement.[8] Rotary actuators can have up to a rotation of 360 degrees. This
allows it to differ from a linear motor as the linear is bound to a set distance compared to the
rotary motor. Rotary motors have the ability to be set at any given degree in a field making the
device easier to set up still with durability and a set torque.
Rotary motors can be powered by 3 different techniques such as Electric, Fluid, or Manual.
[9]
However, Fluid powered rotary actuators have 5 sub-sections of actuators such as Scotch
Yoke, Vane, Rack-and-Pinion, Helical, and Electrohydraulic. All forms have their own specific
design and use allowing the ability to choose multiple angles of degree.
Applications for the rotary actuators are just about endless but, will more than likely be found
dealing with mostly hydraulic pressured devices and industries. Rotary actuators are even
used in the robotics field when seeing robotic arms in industry lines. Anything you see that
deals with motion control systems to perform a task in technology is a good chance to be a
rotary actuator.[9]

Thermal or magnetic
Main article: Shape-memory alloy
Actuators which can be actuated by applying thermal or magnetic energy to a solid-state material
have been used in commercial applications. Thermal actuators can be triggered by temperature or
heating through the Joule effect and tend to be compact, lightweight, economical and with high
power density. These actuators use shape memory materials such as shape-memory
alloys (SMAs) or magnetic shape-memory alloys (MSMAs).[10]
Mechanical
Main article: Mechanism (engineering)
A mechanical actuator functions to execute movement by converting one kind of motion, such
as rotary motion, into another kind, such as linear motion. An example is a rack and pinion. The
operation of mechanical actuators is based on combinations of structural components, such
as gears and rails, or pulleys and chains.

3D printed soft actuators

The majority of the existing soft actuators are fabricated using multistep low yield processes such
as micro-moulding,[11] solid freeform fabrication,[12] and mask lithography.[13] However, these
methods require manual fabrication of devices, post processing/assembly, and lengthy iterations
until maturity in the fabrication is achieved. To avoid the tedious and time-consuming aspects of
the current fabrication processes, researchers are exploring an appropriate manufacturing
approach for effective fabrication of soft actuators. Therefore, special soft systems that can be
fabricated in a single step by rapid prototyping methods, such as 3D printing, are utilized to narrow
the gap between the design and implementation of soft actuators, making the process faster, less
expensive, and simpler. They also enable incorporation of all actuator components into a single
structure eliminating the need to use external joints, adhesives, and fasteners.
Shape memory polymer (SMP) actuators are the most similar to our muscles, providing a
response to a range of stimuli such as light, electrical, magnetic, heat, pH, and moisture changes.
They have some deficiencies including fatigue and high response time that have been improved
through the introduction of smart materials and combination of different materials by means of
advanced fabrication technology. The advent of 3D printers has made a new pathway for
fabricating low-cost and fast response SMP actuators. The process of receiving external stimuli
like heat, moisture, electrical input, light or magnetic field by SMP is referred to as shape memory
effect (SME). SMP exhibits some rewarding features such a low density, high strain recovery,
biocompatibility, and biodegradability.
Photopolymer/light activated polymers (LAP) are another type of SMP that are activated by light
stimuli. The LAP actuators can be controlled remotely with instant response and, without any
physical contact, only with the variation of light frequency or intensity.
A need for soft, lightweight and biocompatible soft actuators in soft robotics has influenced
researchers for devising pneumatic soft actuators because of their intrinsic compliance nature and
ability to produce muscle tension.
Polymers such as dielectric elastomers (DE), ionic polymer metal composites (IPMC), ionic
electroactive polymers, polyelectrolyte gels, and gel-metal composites are common materials to
form 3D layered structures that can be tailored to work as soft actuators. EAP actuators are
categorized as 3D printed soft actuators that respond to electrical excitation as deformation in their
shape.
Components that are part of the functioning of an actuator:
Power source: This provides the energy input that is necessary to drive the actuator. These are
often electric or fluid in nature in the industrial sectors.
Power converter: The role of the power converter is to supply power from the source to the
actuator in accordance with the measurements set by the controller. Hydraulic proportional valves
and electrical inverters are examples of power converters in industrial systems.
Actuator: The actual device that converts the supplied energy to mechanical force.
Mechanical load: The energy converted by the actuator is usually used to make a mechanical
device function. The mechanical load refers to this mechanical system that is being driven by the
actuator.
Controller: A controller ensures that the system functions seamlessly with the appropriate input
quantities and other set points decided by an operator.

Selecting actuators
There are many factors to consider when selecting an actuator for an application need. Some of
these important parameters are mentioned below.
Parameter Comment
Each type has its range limitations, typically 50-
Stroke length
250mm
Mounting brackets Fork, through hole, various dimensions
Countless number of variants. Let us know what you
Connections and cables
need
Optical sensor encoder, Hall sensor - 1 or 2
channels, Softpot/linear potentiometer, Multi-turn
Feedback and/or limit switches
potentiometer, DigPot. Different solutions applicable
for different actuators.
Motor voltage Normally 24V, but can be customized.
Force What max force is needed in the application?
Speed Does the application have any speed requirements?
Does the application have any requirements or
Power consumption
limitations connected to power consumption?
Built-in length and otherWhat are the limiting measurements in the
dimensions application?
Must the application have the motor in any specific
Motor position
position?

Note that there will be a trade-off between the parameters force, speed and power
consumption. For example:
Higher speed --> lower force --> lower current consumption
Higher force --> lower speed --> higher current consumption

Examples of actuators
Comb drive
Digital micromirror device
Electric motor
Electroactive polymer
Hydraulic cylinder
Piezoelectric actuator
Plasma actuator
Pneumatic actuator
Screw jack
Servomechanism
Solenoid
Stepper motor
Shape-memory alloy
Thermal bimorph
Hydraulic actuators
Trim actuator, in aircraft design
References:
https://www.reac-group.com/en_en/facts/actuators/selecting-actuators/
https://www.progressiveautomations.com/pages/actuators#:~:text=An%20actuator%20is%20a
%20part,any%20machine%20that%20enables%20movement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuator