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Actuator

An actuator is a component of a machine

that is responsible for moving and
controlling a mechanism or system, for
example by opening a valve. In simple
terms, it is a "mover".
An actuator requires a control signal and a
source of energy. The control signal is
relatively low energy and may be electric
voltage or current, pneumatic or hydraulic
pressure, or even human power. Its main
energy source may be an electric current,
hydraulic fluid pressure, or pneumatic
pressure. When it receives a control signal,
an actuator responds by converting the
signal's energy into mechanical motion.

An actuator is the mechanism by which a

control system acts upon an environment.
The control system can be simple (a fixed
mechanical or electronic system),
software-based (e.g. a printer driver, robot
control system), a human, or any other
input.[1]

History
The history of the pneumatic actuation
system and the hydraulic actuation system
dates to around the time of World War II
(1938). It was first created by Xhiter
Anckeleman[2] who used his knowledge of
engines and brake systems to come up
with a new solution to ensure that the
brakes on a car exert the maximum force,
with the least possible wear and tear.

Types of actuator

Hydraulic …

A 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 pressure
between the two sides of the piston moves
the piston to one side or the other.[3]

Pneumatic rack and pinion actuators for valve

controls of water pipes
Pneumatic …

Pneumatic actuators enable considerable

forces to be produced from relatively small
pressure changes. A pneumatic actuator
converts energy formed by vacuum or
compressed air at high pressure into either
linear or rotary motion. 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 safer, cheaper, and often more reliable
and powerful than other actuators. These
forces are often used with valves to move
diaphragms to affect the flow of air
through the valve.[4][5]

Electric valve actuator controlling a ½ needle valve.

Electric …
An electric actuator may provide the
actuation force/torque in one of several
ways. Electromechanical actuators may be
used to power a motor that converts
electrical energy into mechanical torque.
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 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.[6]

Twisted and coiled polymer (TCP)

or supercoiled polymer (SCP)
…

Twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) actuator

also known as supercoiled polymer (SCP)
actuator is a coiled polymer that can be
actuated by electric power.[7] A TCP
actuator looks like a helical spring. TCP
actuators are usually made from silver
coated Nylon. TCP actuators can also be
made from other electrical conductance
coat such as gold. TCP actuator should be
under a load to keep the muscle extended.
The electrical energy transforms to
thermal energy due to electrical
resistance, which is also known as Joule
heating, Ohmic heating, and resistive
heating. As the temperature of the TCP
actuator increases by Joule heating, the
polymer contracts and it causes the
actuator contraction.[7]

Thermal or magnetic …
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 trough 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).
Mechanical …

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,[8] solid
freeform fabrication,[9] and mask
lithography.[10] 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.

Examples and applications

In engineering, actuators are frequently
used as mechanisms to introduce motion,
or to clamp an object so as to prevent
motion[11]. In electronic engineering,
actuators are a subdivision of transducers.
They are devices which transform an input
signal (mainly an electrical signal) into
some form of motion.

Examples of actuators …

Comb drive
Digital micromirror device
Electric motor
Electroactive polymer
Hydraulic cylinder
Piezoelectric actuator
Pneumatic actuator
Screw jack
Servomechanism
Solenoid
Stepper motor
Shape-memory alloy
Thermal bimorph
Hydraulic actuators
Circular to linear conversion …

Motors are mostly used when circular

motions are needed, but can also be used
for linear applications by transforming
circular to linear motion with a lead screw
or similar mechanism. On the other hand,
some actuators are intrinsically linear,
such as piezoelectric actuators.
Conversion between circular and linear
motion is commonly made via a few
simple types of mechanism including:
Screw: Screw jack, ball screw and roller
screw actuators all operate on the
principle of the simple machine known
as the screw. By rotating the actuator's
nut, the screw shaft moves in a line. By
moving the screw shaft, the nut rotates.
Wheel and axle: Hoist, winch, rack and
pinion, chain drive, belt drive, rigid chain
and rigid belt actuators operate on the
principle of the wheel and axle. By
rotating a wheel/axle (e.g. drum, gear,
pulley or shaft) a linear member (e.g.
cable, rack, chain or belt) moves. By
 moving the linear member, the
wheel/axle rotates.[12]

Virtual instrumentation …

In virtual instrumentation, actuators and

sensors are the hardware complements of
virtual instruments.

Performance metrics
Performance metrics for actuators include
speed, acceleration, and force
(alternatively, angular speed, angular
acceleration, and torque), as well as
energy efficiency and considerations such
as mass, volume, operating conditions,
and durability, among others.

Force …

When considering force in actuators for

applications, two main metrics should be
considered. These two are static and
dynamic loads. Static load is the force
capability of the actuator while not in
motion. Conversely, the dynamic load of
the actuator is the force capability while in
motion.

Speed …

Speed should be considered primarily at a

no-load pace, since the speed will
invariably decrease as the load amount
increases. The rate the speed will
decrease will directly correlate with the
amount of force and the initial speed.

Operating conditions …
Actuators are commonly rated using the
standard IP Code rating system. Those
that are rated for dangerous environments
will have a higher IP rating than those for
personal or common industrial use.

Durability …

This will be determined by each individual

manufacturer, depending on usage and
quality.
See also
End effector
Hard disk drive actuator
Linear actuator
Load cell
Microactuator
Nanotube nanomotor
Robot actuators
Torque motor

References
1. "About Actuators" .
www.thomasnet.com. Archived from
the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved
2016-04-26.
2. "A Great Combination: Pneumatic
Actuator, Pneumatic Timer, Pneumatic
Valves, and Pneumatic Indicators :
Ellis/Kuhnke Controls" .
www.ekci.com. Archived from the
original on 2018-02-21. Retrieved
2018-02-20.
3. "What's the Difference Between
Pneumatic, Hydraulic, and Electrical
Actuators?" . machinedesign.com.
Archived from the original on 2016-
04-23. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
4. "What is a Pneumatic Actuator?" .
www.tech-faq.com. Archived from the
original on 2018-02-21. Retrieved
2018-02-20.
5. "Pneumatic Valve Actuators
Information | IHS Engineering360" .
www.globalspec.com. Archived from
the original on 2016-06-24. Retrieved
2016-04-26.
. Tisserand, Olivier. "How does an
electric actuator work?" . Archived
from the original on 2018-02-21.
Retrieved 2018-02-20.
7. Jafarzadeh, Mohsen; Gans, Nicholas;
Tadesse, Yonas (August 2018).
"Control of TCP muscles using
Takagi–Sugeno–Kang fuzzy inference
system". Mechatronics. 53: 124–139.
doi:10.1016/j.mechatronics.2018.06.
007 .
. Feng, Guo-Hua; Yen, Shih-Chieh
(2015). "Micromanipulation tool
replaceable soft actuator with gripping
force enhancing and output motion
converting mechanisms". 2015
Transducers - 2015 18th International
Conference on Solid-State Sensors,
Actuators and Microsystems
(TRANSDUCERS). pp. 1877–80.
doi:10.1109/TRANSDUCERS.2015.71
81316 . ISBN 978-1-4799-8955-3.
9. Malone, Evan; Lipson, Hod (2006).
"Freeform fabrication of ionomeric
polymer‐metal composite actuators".
Rapid Prototyping Journal. 12 (5):
244–53.
doi:10.1108/13552540610707004 .
10. Kerdlapee, Pongsak; Wisitsoraat,
Anurat; Phokaratkul, Ditsayuth;
Leksakul, Komgrit; Phatthanakun,
Rungreung; Tuantranont, Adisorn
(2013). "Fabrication of electrostatic
MEMS microactuator based on X-ray
lithography with Pb-based X-ray mask
and dry-film-transfer-to-PCB process".
Microsystem Technologies. 20: 127–
35. doi:10.1007/s00542-013-1816-x .
11. Shabestari, N. P. (2019). "Fabrication
of a simple and easy-to-make
piezoelectric actuator and its use as
phase shifter in digital speckle pattern
interferometry". Journal of Optics. 48
(2): 272–282. doi:10.1007/s12596-
019-00522-4 .
12. Sclater, N., Mechanisms and
Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, 4th
Edition (2007), 25, McGraw-Hill
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