Actuators

Types of Actuators
Electrical
• Ac and dc motors
• Stepper motors
• solenoids
Hydraulic
• Use hydraulic fluid to actuate motion
Pneumatic
• Use compressed air to actuate motion
 Current State of Actuators
All three types of actuators are in use today
Electric actuators are the type most
commonly used
Hydraulic and pneumatic systems allow for
increased force and torque from smaller
motor
There are some dual function actuators
• i.e. rotation and translation
 Used for all Automation
Actuators are used everywhere there is
automation
• robot, conveyor system, etc.

Linear
Actuator Rotary
Electric Motor
Actuator
 Where Used
Electric motors used for high precision
• Precise robot applications such as automotive
and pharmaceutical
• Now up to 10,000 lbf
Hydraulic actuators used for increased
torque
• High force and torque applications up to
32,000 lbf
• High precision achievable
Pneumatic actuators are used for lower cost
and lower precision applications
 Specifications – Electric Motors
AC Electric Motor price range
• $100 to $7,100
• ¼ HP to 100 HP
• 19lbs to 1429lbs
• 1800 rpm
• 120 to 230 input voltage
• Up to 1024 pulses per revolution
 Specifications – Electro Hydraulic
high force-density, precise control, and long operating
life
Thrusts from 500 to 32,000 pounds force @ 2,500 psi
Stroke lengths ranging from fractions of an inch to 40
inches
Can provide up to 448,000 lb.ins torque, and are
typically used as valve actuators in the rotary
actuator format
linear actuator travel is from 0.005 to 6 inches per
second
Resolution can be as fine as 0.002 inches accuracy
with 100% repeatability
 Hydraulic Controlled Arm

Marvin Minsky developed

the Tentacle Arm, which
moved like an octopus.
It had twelve joints
designed to reach
around obstacles. A
PDP-6 computer
controlled the arm,
powered by hydraulic
fluids. Mounted on a
wall, it could lift the
weight of a person
 Supporting Equipment
Amplifier or driver Unit
• Amplify electric power coming from controller
• $30 to $3,500
Encoder
• Identify location of motor
Gripper, conveyor, rollers, or other actuation
devices
 Standards
Standards Based on application
• Cheap low quality actuators
• Expensive high quality high precisions
actuators
• Torque and force requirements
• Position holding when not moving
 Major Vendors
Electric Motors
• Marathon Electric
• Automation Direct
Solenoid
• DECCO
Hydraulic Systems
• M-MAC Actuators
• PHD Inc.
Pnuematic
• Parker
 Achievements
Brushless dc 6000 rpm motor was used
40 in-lb peak torque output
• Hydraulic transmission ratio 484.7:1
Theoretical peak torque = 19,388 in-lb
Max output speed 12.4 rpm
Actual peak torque = 7300 in-lb due to 2000
psi limitation on internal seals
 Summary
Three major actuator types
All different types of
Applications
• Need good precision, electrical actuator
• Need large forces, hydraulic actuator
• Low cost, pneumatic actuator
→Note: can get high precision expensive pneumatic
actuators
 Electromechanical actuators
Convert electrical energy into mechanical energy.
Magnetism is the basis of their principles of
operation. They use permanent magnets,
electromagnets, and exploit the
electromagnetic phenomenon in order to
produce the actuation.
Provide angular motion as well as linear motion
(through auxiliary mechanical components
such as bearing, gear, pulley, lead screw and
ball screw).
Electromechanical actuators include DC, AC and
stepper motors.
 Electromechanical actuators
Convert electrical energy into mechanical energy.
Magnetism is the basis of their principles of
operation. They use permanent magnets,
electromagnets, and exploit the
electromagnetic phenomenon in order to
produce the actuation.
Provide angular motion as well as linear motion
(through auxiliary mechanical components
such as bearing, gear, pulley, lead screw and
ball screw).
Electromechanical actuators include DC, AC and
stepper motors.
 Motors
Motors are the universal actuator.
AC motors are ideal for applications that require
constant speed with little variation in load
• Use line voltage.
• Give more power per size.
• Control almost on/off.
DC motors are the main ones used for speed or
position control under changing loads.
• smaller DC motors commonly operate at lower
voltages (e.g., 12-V disk drive motor).
• easier to interface with control electronics.
DC Motor
 DC Motor Types
Based on how the stator magnetic fields
are created, dc motors are classified
into:
Wound-field
• shunt-wound
• series-wound
• compound-wound
Permanent magnet
Brushless DC Motors
 DC Motor Control Circuit
Analog drive
a linear power amplifier amplifies the
drive signal from the controller and
gives the motor a “strengthened”
analog voltage.
A DAC (digital-to-analog converter)
would be required if the controller is
digital.
 DC Motor Control Circuit
Pulse-width modulation (PWM)
􀂃 Power is supplied to the motor in the form
of DC pulses of a fixed voltage.
The width of the pulses is varied to control the
motor speed. The wider the pulses, the
higher the average DC voltage, so more
energy is available to the motor.
The frequency of the pulses is high enough
that the motor’s inductance averages them,
and it runs smoothly.
DC Motor Control Using an Analog
Drive
 DC Motor Control Using Pulse-
Width Modulation

The full voltage of the dc power supply is

switched to the motor on and off at a fixed
frequency. By varying the duty cycle, the
average voltage seen by the motor varies in
portion to the duty cycle. Switching frequency
is above the audible range (thousands cycles
per second).
 DC Motor Control Using Pulse-
Width Modulation

For a 50% duty cycle (power on one-half

the time), the motor would turn at about
half speed, and so on. In real life,
nonlinear factors cause the motor to go
 DC Motor Control Using Pulse-
Width Modulation

PWM offers two distinct advantages over

analog drive:
It is digital in nature—the power is either on
or off, so it can be controlled directly from
a computer with a single bit, eliminating
the need for a DAC.
The drive amplifier can use efficient class C
operation. The class C amplifier is
efficient because the conditions that
cause power dissipation are minimized.
 PWM Waveform Generation
There are many ways to create the PWM
waveform:
using software (may burden the main
processor with such a repetitive task)
dedicated circuits (LM3524 from National
Semiconductor)
special programmable timing circuits
built-in to the microcontroller.
PWM H-Bridge Drive Circuit
Mathematical Modelling of DC Motors

The equivalent circuit diagram of a DC motor

Mathematical Model of Armature-
Controlled DC Motor
Mathematical Model of Armature-
Controlled DC Motor
Mathematical Model of Field-Controlled
DC Motor
Mathematical Model of Field-Controlled
DC Motor
 Stepper Motor
Digital motors that translate electrical pulses into
mechanical movement.
􀂃 Because of this precise position controllability, stepper
motors are excellent for applications that require high
positioning accuracy.
􀂃 Steppers have inherently low velocity and therefore are
frequently used without gear reductions.
􀂃 Stepper motors are used in X-Y scanners, plotters, and
machine tools, floppy and hard disk drive head
positioning, computer printer head positioning, and
numerous other applications.
Stepper vs. DC Motors
How Steppers Work?
Stepper Motor / Electro magnet
 Rotor

Stator
Outside Casing

Coils Stator

Rotor
1

N
2 2

S
Internal components of a Stepper Motor
1
 Cross Section of a Stepper Motor

1 Stators
S
N

2 2

S
N
1
Rotor
Full Step Operation

Four Steps per revolution i.e. 90 deg. steps.

Half Step Operation

Eight steps per. revolution i.e. 45 deg. steps.

 Winding number 1
1

a b
1
N
One
6 pole rotor S step
N N
2 2
S S
N
Winding number 2 S
1
a b

2
Six pole rotor, two electro magnets.

How many steps are required for one complete revolution?

 Practical Stepper motor operation

The top electromagnet (1) is turned on, The top electromagnet (1) is turned off,
attracting the nearest teeth of a gear- and the right electromagnet (2) is
shaped iron rotor. With the teeth aligned energized, pulling the nearest teeth
to electromagnet 1, they will be slightly slightly to the right. This results in a
offset from electromagnet 2 rotation of 3.6° in this example.
The bottom electromagnet (3) is The left electromagnet (4) is enabled,
energized; another 3.6° rotation rotating again by 3.6°. When the top
occurs. electromagnet (1) is again enabled, the teeth
in the sprocket will have rotated by one
tooth position; since there are 25 teeth, it
will take 100 steps to make a full rotation in
this example.
 Stepper motor applications

Stepping Motor to move read-write head

 Stepper motor applications

Paper feeder on printers

Stepper motors

CNC lathes
 Stator coils

Rotor
CNC Stepping Motor
Advantages / Disadvantages
Advantages:-
Low cost for control achieved
Ruggedness
Simplicity of construction
Can operate in an open loop control system
Low maintenance
Less likely to stall or slip
Will work in any environment

Disadvantages:-
Require a dedicated control circuit
Use more current than D.C. motors
High torque output achieved at low speeds
Excitation Modes for PM Stepper Motors

􀂃 Two-Phase (Bipolar) Stepper Motors

􀂃 Four-Phase (Unipolar) Stepper Motors
Two-Phase (Bipolar) Stepper Motors
Four-Phase (Unipolar) Stepper Motors
Four-Phase (Unipolar) Stepper Motors
Four-Phase (Unipolar) Stepper Motors
 Variable-Reluctance Stepper

􀂃 The variable-reluctance (VR) stepper motor does not

use a magnet for the rotor; instead, it uses a toothed iron
wheel.
􀂃 VR motor has less torque than the PM motor.
􀂃 VR stepper motor can achieve very small steps (less
than 1°) -- more precise positioning.
􀂃 Has no detent torque when the power is off.
􀂃 Due to the small step size and reduced detent torque,
the VR stepper motor has more of a tendency to
overshoot and skip a step.
 Hybrid Stepper

􀂃 The hybrid stepper motor combines the features

of the PM and VR stepper motors.
􀂃 Is the type in most common use today.
􀂃 The rotor is toothed, which allows for very small
step angles (typically 1.8°), and it has a
permanent magnet providing a small detent
torque even when the power is off.
Unipolar Stepper Drive Circuit
 Bipolar Stepper Drive Circuit

MCU’s
Port
 Stepper Motor Control Circuits

A MCU can drive a stepper motor in two approaches:

􀂃 Sending the control pulses in the proper sequence
to the motor terminals
􀂃 Use an IC controller
Control sequence to turn a stepper motor
+

Step 1 0 0 1 1
CW CCW
Step 2 1 0 1 0
Step 3 1 1 0 0
Step 4 0 1 0 1
Stepper IC Controller
Servo Motor Detail

Actuator

Reduction gear

Position feedback
Potentiometer
+ 5V (closed loop system)

Small electric DC motor

 Linear Motor
􀂃 Linear motor is a rotary brushless DC motor
(BLDC) that has been rolled out flat.
􀂃 Linear motors convert electric power directly
into linear motion.
􀂃 They are capable of high speed (up to 10 m/s), high
force (over 1000 lb) and long travel (several
meters).
􀂃 Like a BLDC, they have no sliding contacts but do
require an electronic drive unit.