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Voice Call Actuator
Voice Call Actuator
Voice Call Actuator
Introduction
It is sometimes said that voice coils are intended for fast motion
but they work just as well for slow motion. Again, a voice coil exerts
a force, the consequence of that force depends on the circumstances.
Principle of Operation
The voice coil works because of the force between a magnetic field
and an electric current perpendicular to the field, what is called the
Lorentz force. Below is a schematic diagram of a current-carrying
wire (orange) and a magnet (blue). Arrows indicate the direction of
the electric current (right) and of the magnetic field (up):
The inner cylinder pushes out of or into the page depending on the
direction of the current. The magnitude of the force is proportional to
the magnitude of the current.
Simplicity of construction.
No gears. They are completely silent and there is no backlash
when direction is reversed (very low “hysteresis”).
They are force actuators, they naturally provide a force, specified
by the current through the coil – or what amounts to the same thing
(because of the fixed electrical resistance of the coil) the voltage
across the coil. Acceleration and subsequent velocity and position are
consequences of the specified force.
Complications
Also the design must account for a sudden power outage, that is, it
must fail safely when the actuator force summarily drops to zero.
Several numbers describe a particular voice coil. Here are the most
important ones.
Mechanical parameters:
Electrical parameters:
The force exerted per amp of current.
Coil resistance.
Coil inductance.
Back EMF (volts per unit velocity)
Further Reading
Links to publications available online (the first two are PDF files):
Voice-coil actuators
by George Gogue & Joseph Stupak, G2 Consulting.