Mechanical actuators

Mechanical actuators is used to convert a rotary motion is converted into linear motion to execute a movement. It involves gears, rails, pulley, chain and other devices to operate. A pulley actuator implements a motor to drive a screw and a guide rod to relatively expand or retract while utilizing one flexible rope and two pulleys to drive three telescoped tubes to relatively expand or retract move correspondingly. The pulley actuator has a simplified structure as compared with the known devices and is easy to fabricate. Gear actuators are those elements in the gear system that are used to put the system in automatic action. These geared actuator are the final elements in the control system, which receive low power command and amplify it to produce required output. The agent giving the command can be artificial intelligence system or other autonomous being in these gear actuator.

A mechanical linear actuator with digital readout (a type of micrometer).

Roller screw actuation with traveling screw (rotating nut).

Mechanical linear actuators typically operate by conversion of rotary motion into linear motion. Conversion is commonly made via a few simple types of mechanism:

Screw: leadscrew, 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.

A screw jack is a device used to apply a force, push and pull, or move to a position and hold by mechanically converting rotary motion into linear motion

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. A rotating wheel moves a cable, rack, chain or belt to produce linear motion. [1]

Cam: Cam actuators function on a principle similar to that of the wedge, but provide relatively limited travel. As a wheel-like cam rotates, its eccentric shape provides thrust at the base of a shaft.

Some mechanical linear actuators only pull, such as hoists, chain drive and belt drives. Others only push (such as a cam actuator). Mechanical actuators typically convert rotary motion of a control knob or handle into linear displacement via screws and/or gears to which the knob or handle is attached. A jackscrew or car jack is a familiar mechanical actuator. Another family of actuators are based on the segmented spindle. Rotation of the jack handle is converted mechanically into the linear motion of the jack head. Some actuators even include an encoder and digital position readout.

Reference 1. Wiki pedia