Types of Actuators

With an actuator, a motor can control a system and act on an environment by turning energy into motion. Actuators can be in a simple control system like a mechanical engine, or in a computer based system, like a robot. Actuators can be divided by the type of motion they produce and the type of power they use.

Actuator Motion

One type of actuator motion is linear, push and pull action, the other motion is rotary. Sometimes the power of an actuator can be created by a rotary motion but create a linear one or visa versa.

Power Use

Another way to divide actuators is by power use:

Hydraulic
In a hydraulic actuator, a cylinder or fluid-based motor uses the power of hydraulics to create mechanical action. The motion can be either straight, rotating or oscillating. The fact that liquids don't compress well makes a hydraulic actuator very powerful. The hydraulic power can be applied to one or both sides of a piston.

Pneumatic
With a pneumatic actuator, a vacuum or compressed air is used to make energy into action. They are good for making a large linear or rotating motion with a small amount of pressure. Because of the use of high pressure to power them, pneumatic actuators respond quickly and are good for stopping and starting and so are good for main engine controls.

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Electrical
The most common kind of actuator is an electrical one which can take electrical energy from DC or AC and turn it into mechanical energy. Because this is a clean and easily available technology, electrical actuators are popular for many types of industry and things like multi-turn valves.

Thermal (Magnetic)
Another name for thermal actuators is "shape memory alloys" (SMMs) because these types of actuators use SMMs to create high power density energy for commercial applications. Advantages of thermal actuators are that they are cost-effective, small and lightweight.

Mechanical
Using pulleys, gears, rails and chains, a mechanical actuator converts the rotating motion of physical objects into linear motion. One common example is rack and pinion steering systems.

Picking the type of actuator needed for a particular job requires knowing the needed parameters of loading, timing, speed and stroke length. Other conditions may be costs and whether the actuator will be used indoors or out.

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