15FELE221

Actuators
Chapter 10
Adapted from: Introduction to Mechatronics and Measurement Systems
Compiled By: Mohammad Zaki and Hania El-Kanj
Actuators
▪ Why do Actuators matter?
▪

• Identify and classify actuators from method of

action
• Select actuators for a mechatronic system
based on performance specifications

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Actuators

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Actuators
▪

Power Mechanical
Actuator
Amplification Work

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Actuators
An actuator is a component of a machine that is
responsible for moving and controlling a mechanism
or system. An actuator requires a control signal and a
source of energy.
Types:
• Electromechanical
• Hydraulic ➔ liquids
• Pneumatic ➔ gases
• Combustive

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•
➢
❖

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DC Motors
• Powered by DC voltage

• r.p.m. N increases when V increases at fixed load

• r.p.m. decreases when torque

𝜏 = 𝐹. 𝑟
𝜏 : Torque in N.m ➔ Load applied to the motor
F = Force in N
R = radius in m

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Applications of DC Motors
• Fans
• Toys
• Conveyors
• Any application with low torque

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 Advantages

Controlling a DC motor is as
simple as a switch. Simply
apply a voltage to start driving
Simple to control them. They slow down when
the voltage is lowered, and
spin in the other direction
when the voltage is reversed.
High torque is achieved at low
Excellent speed at low torque
speeds.
Brushed DC motors are about
Reasonably Efficient
75-80% efficient.
A typical DC motor price is
Inexpensive
K.D. 5

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 Disadvantages

Noise Noisy when in operation.

Easily worn out as a result of

continuous moving contact
Constant Maintenance
and require constant
maintenance.

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Stepper Motors
• Operates similar to a DC motor but moves in slow,
precise and discrete steps.
• Preferred when precise position control is required.

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Stepper Motors Are Good For Precise
Position Control

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Applications of Stepper Motors
• CNC milling machines
• Medical imaging machinery
• Printers
• Car side mirror tilts
• Security cameras
• Robotics
• 3D printers
• Any other application that requires
precise positioning.

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 Advantages

Stepper motors have a high pole

Precise positioning count, usually from 50 to 100, and can
accurately move between it.

Precise increments in movement enables

excellent speed control, making them a
Precise speed control
good choice in process automation and
robotics.
Stepper motors have maximum torque at
low speeds (less than 2000 rpm), making
Excellent torque characteristics at low them suitable for applications that need
speeds low speed with high precision. Normal DC
motors and servo motors do not have much
torque at low speeds.
Stepper motors can be easily controlled
with microcontrollers such as the ATmega
Easy to control
chips that are readily available on Arduino
development boards.

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 Disadvantages

Stepper motors are known to

Noise
generate some noise during
operation.
Generally, stepper motors have
Limited high-speed torque less torque at high speeds than at
low speeds.
Unlike DC motors, the current
consumption of stepper motors is
independent of load and they
Low Efficiency
constantly draw maximum
current. As such, they tend to
become hot.
As stepper motors have a low
Might skip steps
top-speeds, they might skip steps
at high loads.
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 Servomotors
A servomotor is a rotary actuator
or linear actuator that allows for
precise control of angular or linear
position, velocity and acceleration.
It consists of a suitable motor
coupled to a sensor for position
feedback

▪
▪
▪
▪
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Servomotors Are Good For
Speed and Position Control
• high rpm and very low torque
• Internal gears lower the speed to increase the torque
• provide more torque for heavier work
• Has internally position sensors and encoders

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 Advantages
At speeds greater than 2000
rpm, servo motors have high
Excellent torque
torque and are best suited for
characteristics at high speeds
applications with high speeds
and high torque.
They come in many different
Variety
sizes and torque ratings.
Small sized servos only costs a
few K.Ds. Many servo motors
Inexpensive have gears that are made of
plastic to keep them light and
at the same time, cheap.

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 Disadvantages
Unpredictable when something is broken

Complex Controller

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 AC Motors
• Energized by AC supply (50 Hz)
• Operated by electromagnetic induction from the magnetic
field of the stator winding.
• Speed controlled by frequency and load

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 Advantages
They have only one moving
Simple
part, the rotor.

low-cost

quiet

long-lasting

relatively trouble free

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 Disadvantages
speed of an induction motor
depends on the frequency of
the alternating current that
Rotates at a constant speed
drives it, it turns at a constant
speed unless you use a
variable-frequency drive
More complex to control the
speed as compared to DC
motors

heavy weight

bulky Size

Requires an inverter DC to AC
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▪
▪

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•

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▪
▪

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 Can you specify exactly where?

Will it move to where you want?

Speed
What distance/rotation it can do. It should be fast enough but not too fast?

Load
What is the maximum load it can handle (torque)?

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Reliability
How many fails it will have and what is the time between failures?
Power Consumption
How much power it needs to be fed so that it can operate normally?

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Weight
How much kilograms/grams does it weigh?

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Linearity Response Time and Time Constant

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Bandwidth

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 Speed Control for Motors
Electronic speed controllers are of two types:
linear amplifiers and pulse width modulators.

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lower power
requirements, ease of design, smaller size, and
lower cost, we focus on the switched
amplifier designs, which are generally called
pulse-width modulation (PWM)
amplifiers.

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The principle of a PWM amplifier is shown in
Figure 10.18. A DC power supply
voltage is rapidly switched at a fixed frequency
f between two values (e.g., ON
and OFF). This frequency is often in excess of 1
kHz. The high value is held during
a variable pulse width t within the fixed period
T where

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The resulting asymmetric waveform has a duty
cycle defined as the ratio between
the ON time and the period of the waveform,
usually specified as a percentage:

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As the duty cycle is changed (by the
controller), the average current through
the motor changes, causing changes in speed
and torque at the output. It is primarily
the duty cycle, and not the value of the power
supply voltage, that is used to
control the speed of the motor.

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 Direction Control for Motors
To be able to reverse the direction of rotation of a DC motor, the applied
voltage
polarity across the motor and the resulting current direction must be flipped.
This
can be done with a circuit called an H-bridge

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