Chapter 4

Actuators
INTRODUCTION
Actuators are the muscles of robots.

Several types of actuator noteworthy
- Electric motors
- Servomotors
- Stepper motors

- Hydraulic actuators
- Pneumatic actuators
- Shape memory metal actuators

Chapter 4
Actuators
INTRODUCTION






()

actuator
(Hydraulic
actuator)

oil

,
robot

Pump, , ,
servo valve

actuator
(Pneumatic
actuator)

, , clean

hand
door

Compressor, ,
servo valve

motor
(Electric motor)

clean,



, motor driver


(SMA, Shape
Memoried Alloy)



frame, joint

,

motor
(Ultrasonic motor)
, , brake

camera lens

ceramics

actuator
- Weight, Power-to-Weight Ratio, Operating Pressure
- The weight of the actuating system and Power-to-Weight Ratio is important.
stepper motor < servomotor
pneumatic : lowest, hydraulic : highest
- Pneumatic and hydraulic system are composed of two system, actuating
system and power system.
- Operating pressure
hydraulic : 55~5,000 psi
pneumatic : 100~120 psi
Chapter 4
Actuators
CHARACTERISTICS OF ACUATING SYSTEM
- Characteristics of actuating system is criteria of selecting the kind of actuator.
- Stiffness
- the resistance of a material against deformation
hydraulic systems : very stiff & noncompliant
pneumatic systems : easily compressed -> compliant
Chapter 4
Actuators
CHARACTERISTICS OF ACUATING SYSTEM
- Use of Reduction Gears
- To increase the torque and make it to slow it down to manageable speeds.
- It increase the cost, number of parts, backlash, inertia of the rotating body,
and resolution of the system.
Inertia and torque relationship between a motor and a load.
Chapter 4
Actuators
) (
1 1
1 l l l l m m m m m m m m m b I
N
b I T
N
b I T u u u u u u

+ + + = + + =
l Effective I
N
I
2
1
= m l Total I I
N
I + =
2
1
Effect of reduction gear
- It offers a high power-to-weight ratio , large forces at low speeds
compatibility with microprocessor and tolerance of extreme hazardous
environments.
A rotary hydraulic actuator.
- where, A is the effective area of the piston,
p is the working pressure.
Chapter 4
Actuators
HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR
dr t dA =
dr t r p dA r p T
r
r
r
r
} }
= =
2 2
1 1
) (
2
1
2
1
2
2
1
2
r r pt dr r pt
r
r
= =
}
Schematic of a hydraulic system and its components.
Chapter 4
Actuators
HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR
- where, q is the flow rate, C is a constant, x is the spools displacement, y is
pistons displacement and A is the area of the piston (d/dt denoted as D).

= =
=
) ( ) vol ( ) ( dy A d dt q
Cx q

=
=
x
AD
C
y
dy A dt Cx ) ( ) (
Chapter 4
Actuators
Block diagram of the hydraulic system
with proportional feedback control scheme
Schematic of a spool valve in neutral position.
- It is very similar to hydraulic system, but power-to-weight
ratio is much lower than hydraulic system.
- Because the air is compressible, it compressed and
deforms under load.
Chapter 4
Actuators
PNEUMATIC DEVICES
Basic Concept of Electric Motors
- Sorts of electric motors used in robotics
- DC motors
- Reversible AC motors
- Brushless DC motors
- Stepper motors
- Important design factor is like below.
- Dissipation of heat -> Size, Power of motors

- Heat dissipation is generated from below.
- Resistance of the wiring to electric current
- Heat due to iron losses
- Eddy current losses, hysteresis losses
- friction losses, brush losses, short-out circuit losses
- Basic Principle of all electric motors;
Chapter 4
Actuators
ELECTRIC MOTORS
B I F =
Heat dissipation path of motors.
Chapter 4
Actuators
- What is important is the path that the heat must take to
leave the motor since if the heat is dissipated faster more
generated heat can be dissipated before damage occurs.
Chapter 4
Actuators
DC motor operating principles
Chapter 4
Actuators
Component of DC motor(brush-type)
- The changing flux is provided by the AC current(60Hz) and commutators
and brushes are eliminated.
- AC motors can dissipate heat more favorable than DC motors, yielding
more power.
Chapter 4
Actuators
AC Motors
Brushless DC Motors
- This types of motors are a hybrid between AC motors and DC motors.
- It is not necessary that line frequency as 60Hz.
- For smooth operation and almost constant torque, the rotor usually
has three phases in it.
Direct-Drive Electric Motors
- These motors are designed to deliver a very large torque at very low
speeds and with very high resolution, but to be used directly with a joint
without any gear reduction.
Scheme of a servomotor controller.
Chapter 4
Actuators
Servomotors
- The back electromotive force or back-emf is most important factor
for all electric motors.
Motor equivalent circuit
Chapter 4
Actuators
Stepper motors
- Stepper motors are long-lasting, versatile and used without feedback.
Basic principle of operation of a stepper motor.
- It has permanent magnet rotors and multiple winding stator housing.
- Most industrial steppers run between 1.8 to 7.5 degrees at full stepping.
- The number of poles means more precise resolution, but it has physical limitation.
Chapter 4
Actuators
Operation of unipolar stepper motor
Full step phase sequence
Half step phase sequence
Chapter 4
Actuators
Configuration of stepper motor
Chapter 4
Actuators
Hybrid Stepper Motors
- These motors are made with two coils, each with four poles.
Application of unequal divisions for measuring lengths as in a caliper.
Basic operation of a hybrid stepper motor.
Chapter 4
Actuators
- A robot is supposed to be a manipulator that is controlled by computers or microprocessor
and actuated by the electric motors with controller, which is computer or microprocessor.
PWM timing.
Sine wave generation with PWM.
MICROPROCESSOR CONTROL OF ELECTRIC MOTORS
Pulse Width Modulation
- PWM is used for DC motor speed control with microprocessors.
- It requires only high voltage(5V) and one output bit.
- Average output voltage of PWM is like below.
t
t
V V CC out
1
=
Chapter 4
Actuators
PWM velocity feedback control
PWM voltage and motor current
PWM feedback control
Chapter 4
Actuators
Application of H-bridge for motor direction control
Direction Control of DC Motors with an H-Bridge
- PWM It is desirable to change the direction of current flow in a motor for changing its
direction of rotation with only two bits of information.
- It means one should change the direction of the flow by changing bit information from
the microprocessor.
Chapter 4
Actuators
- One particular metal alloy, called Biometal' shortens about 4% when it reaches a
certain temperature.
- The major disadvantage of the wire is that the total strain happens within a very small
temperature range and it is very difficult to accurately control the strain.
SHAPE-MEMORY-TYPE METALS