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 fluid pressure, or even human power. Its main energy source may be an electric current, hydraulic pressure, or pneumatic pressure. When it receives a control signal, an actuator responds by converting the source's energy into mechanical motion. In the electric, hydraulic, and pneumatic sense, it is a form of automation or automatic control.
An actuator is a mechanism by which a control system acts upon to perform an operation or task. 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.
I do not have much knowledge in piezoelectric, but all the piezoelectric I've read up on seems to only achieve maximum displacement in measurement values of microns. Is it even possible for some piezoelectric actuator to bend a 10 meter long cantilever beam up to 1 meter at its maximum...
Hi,I am trying to design a simple autonomous braking system for a 4 wheel drive ATV. The system needs to be as cheap as possible. I have come up with two possible solutions. The use of a linear Actuator to activate the brake or a stepper motor attached in someway to the master cylinder. It needs...
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Hello,
I am required to find the actuator force for a scissor lift. Below are the images of the same:
For a scissor lift, with weight W acting on it, I have introduced to links...
I am working on a home made electromechanical actuator to replace the vacuum actuator on the front axle of my Jeep Cherokee.
The vacuum actuator isn't the greatest and I have replaced it and the system lines few times.
SO I figure, I know what force the vacuum actuator is putting out, I...
Homework Statement
The problem deals with a linear rail system not unlike the one displayed in the image below
The relevant variables include:
Load = 70 Lbs
Load travel = 2.2 m
Load speed required = 2.3 m/s
Cycle time = 9 sec
Capacity of actuator = 33,000 N
With the given...
Hi Guy's I am building an Automatic egg turner for an old incubator .I wish to use an actuator and I need a way to control it .The egg turner is basically a set of stacked cradles that moves 45 degrees through 90 degrees and back again ,this action will need to be controlled so the actuator...
I am trying to make a sound activated linear actuator to open blinds when my alarm goes off. There are a couple concerns I have; Will the switch be triggered by a loud alarm clock? and would there be a way to have another switch to close the blinds once they have been opened, something like a...
Can someone please help in finding a suitable rotary actuator?
I need it to lower the rear wheelchair ramp of a car. So the motor would attach directly to a shaft. When it causes the shaft to rotate it would lower the ramp which is welded onto the shaft. I'm finding it hard to find a rotary...
I am investigating linear actuator technologies as an alternate to using pneumatics. I require independent control over both the output force and stroke velocity. The force needs to be varied between 30-160N and the stroke velocity varied up to a maximum 1.2m/s. The maximum frequency of actuator...
I am working on a project that requires moving a 100mm long and <.5mm diameter pin a specific distance in a straight line. I want to move the pin in and out as fast as possible and accurate to less than .05 mm. The device needs to be as small as possible. The stepper linear actuators on the...
Hi people,
I am in a project in my university and I need to paste two piezoelectric actuator in a thin circular ring but this ring will stay inside a tank filled with water.
Will I have any problem in put this actuator in contact with water? It will be paste in the ring and connected in a...
Hi,
I'm using a piezoelectric ceramic phono cartridge to produce high frequency displacements in the phono stylus. I'm driving it with a function generator that has an output of +-10 V sine wave . I connected the generator to a transformer that has a 1/10 reduction ratio to ramp up to voltage...
Hi All! I am currently busy working on a new knife gate valve design. I have an actuator with a mass of 200 kg attached at the top of the valve. The bottom plate of the actuator is 28 mm thick and I am going to use this plate directly to fasten the actuator(see attached drawing for plate...
Ok, maybe not actuator.. I need to decide between two types of solenoids? Not 100% on what they are called but i'll try to get the gist of it across.
I want to be able to be able to build a system where a piston strikes a mechanism in a linear motion, and I am not sure if air or electric ones...
I've been searching, and does anyone know where to get a small, cheap, rotary actuator (or really any actuator that can be used to rotate an object)? I've found lots of places saying stuff ABOUT actuators, but none selling them, or found them selling them for quite a lot of money, which I don't...
Hello; just need approximations here. 16 inch buttterfly valve with separate environments on each side. side one: clear water at about 8psi; side two: air at about 33 psi; Consider both pneumatic and electric actuatiion under ideal conditions.What is the approximate fastest time to open...
If a pneumatic actuator is connected directly to a roughly 150 kg metal plate... and this whole system is mounted horizontally... then would the downward force of the plate be harmful to the normal operation when fully extended? Or is it simply a matter of increasing the bore of the actuator?
Hi all,
Mechanical engineer needing some electrical help. So electrically piezo actuators are modeled as capacitors.
Power(P) = C*U*dU/dt, where U equals voltage.
I'm seeing several sites like here: http://www.piezo.ws/piezoelectric_actuator_tutorial/Piezo_Design_part3.php
They...
This is a very long argument between me and a supplier of a electric linear actuator for opening gates.
In the image below you can see how I currently have the gates configured, and how they are suggesting I have them configured.
My question is this...
Would I be correct in saying...
Hello,
I'm trying to build this, but I'm confused a bit about the optimal cheaper way of getting it working, it should be working on 12v battery car and cover 0-90 degree of movement , I've in mind couple of simple ideas, I think I can't build a complicated one like military launch pads...
I am working on a project where I have a ball-screw type linear actuator being driven by a 24V variable speed DC motor. There is another 24V DC motor that drivers a pinion and ring-gear. The linear actuator controls the system's elevation and the ring gear controls the traverse.
I would...
I need to describe the working mechanism for the following actuator.
Here's what I've written so far:
However, I feel that I'm missing something. In particular, how is the force that moves the plunger generated? Is it really due to the magnetic fields? I know of the right hand rule where...
A linear actuator is wedged between two solid walls as shown in the diagram below. The linear actuator is pushing outwards with a force of 10N. What are the magnitudes of the forces labelled in the diagrams?
I reckon that F1 = F2 = R1 = R2. However, I'm not sure if F1 = F2 = 5N or 10N...
I have a reclining mechanism which moves by and down. It is X framed, just like an ambulance stretcher. It has to be able to raise its own weight through a vertical distance of 610mm. The length of the stretcher is 2m, and the distance between the wheels is fixed at 1.2m. Can anyone help me go...
I am not a mechanical engineer but rather a computer programmer so pardon me if my question is simple in your field. I have a need for a linear actuator that has a stroke of about eight inches but it needs to be constant motion so as soon as it reaches the end of its stroke, it needs to reverse...
Hi,
I am working on a tennis gaming project. The goal is to add haptic feedback to the racket. Currently, we have added simple relay motors to create vibration feedback to the racket but that is not enough.
I am looking for an actuator that can provide impulsive force feedback (to simulate...
Mainly, I'm only curious about the nifty device's function for reading "brain waves" shown at 5:00 in this video:
It only cost like 120 bucks. What do you folks think? Are there any neuroscientists on here that know if the readings are accurate enough for amateur analysis on one's self...
I seek to construct an apparatus capable of moving a steel plate against gravity in 200 milliseconds.
The plate is roughly the same size and shape as the hatch on a submarine:
mass = 40 kg;
dimension: 0.3 meter diameter--> = radius in calculations below;
angle of rotation: 90...
I am looking for a data acquisition system to replace an old Spectral Dynamics Siglab 42-20 system that I use to collect the frequency response of a smart material actuator our company manufactures. We currently run a stepped sine test between 50Hz and 2000Hz. This tests dwells at 50Hz, collects...
I can give the following description to the problem, but I don't specifically know what should be done to drive an actuator (specially a piezoeelctric one) in its resonance frequency using a feedback.
**The sensor consists of a piezoelectric transducer and a vibration pickup. When an...
I just thought I would throw this out there, see if anyone knows of some good products or neat tricks.
We are building a probe to be used with some DC SQUIDs that are going to be operating at low temp (~4 - 40K). For part of the design we want some sort of actuator or motor that would allow...
i'm a mechanical student, and given 1 assignment to design a hydraulic actuator.
i need to calculate t load or force, so that i can choose the most suitable nuts and screw to assembly it.
do u all have those kind of drawing and the formulas for calculation?
please help! it's urgent..