ACTUATORS

Introduction

Actuators are the muscles of robots. If you imagine that the links and the joints are the
skeleton of the robot, the actuators act as muscles, which moves or rotate the links to change
the configuration of robots. The actuators must have enough power to accelerate and
decelerate the links and to carry the loads, yet be light, economical, accurate, responsive,
reliable and easy to maintain.

There are many types of actuators available. The following types are
noteworthy.

 Electric Motors
o Servo motor
o Stepper motor
o Direct-drive electric motor
 Hydraulic motors
 Pneumatic actuators
Electric motors – especially servomotors – are the most commonly used robotic actuators.
Hydraulic systems were very popular for large robots in the past and are still around in many
places. Pneumatic cylinders are used in robots that have ½ degree of freedom, on-off type
joints, as well as for insertion purposes.

ELECTRIC MOTORS:

When a wire carrying a current is placed within a magnetic field, it experiences a

force normal to the plane formed by the magnetic field and the current as F= I* B if the wire
is attached to a center of rotation. Changing the direction of the magnetic field or the current
causes the wire to continuously rotate about the centre of rotation.

There are many types of electric motors that are used in robotics. They include the
following.

 DC Motors
 AC Motors
 Servo Motors
 Stepper Motors
DC Motors:

DC motors are very common in industry and have been used for a long time. In DC
motors, the stator is a set of fixed permanent magnets, creating a fixed magnetic field, while
the rotor carries a current. Through brushes and commutators, the direction of current is
changed continuously, causing the rotor to rotate continuously.

AC Motors:

Electric AC motors are similar DC motors except that the rotor is permanent magnet,
the stator houses the windings, and all commutators and brushes are eliminated.
Servo Motors:

A Servomotor is a DC,AC, brushless, or even stepper motor with feedback that can be
controlled to move at a desired speed (and consequently, torque), for a desired angle of
rotation. To do this, a feedback device sends signals to the controller circuit of the
servomotor reporting its angular position and velocity. If as a result of higher loads, the
velocity is larger than desired set value, the current is increased until the speed is equal to the
desired value. If the speed signal shows that the velocity is larger than the desired, the current
is reduced accordingly. If position feedback is used as well, the position signal is used to shut
off the motor as the rotor approaches the desired angular position.

Stepper Motors:

Stepper motors are versatile, long-lasting, simple motors that can be used in many
applications. In most applications, the stepper motors are used without feedback. This is
because unless a step is missed, a stepper motor steps a known angle each time it is moved.
Thus, its angular position is always known no feedback is necessary. Stepper motors come in
many different forms and principles of operation. Each type has certain characteristics unique
to it, yielding it appropriate choice for certain applications. Most stepper motors can be used
in different motors by writing them differently.

Unlike regular DC or AC motors (but similar to brushes DC motors) if you connect a

stepper motor to power, it will not rotate. Stepper rotates only when the magnetic field is
rotated through its different windings. In fact, their maximum torque is developed when they
do not turn. Even when not powered, steppers have a residual torque called detent torque. It
requires an external torque to turn a stepper motor, even when not powered. As a result, all
stepper motors need a micro processor or driver/controller (indexer) circuit for rotation.

Hydraulic Actuators:

Hydraulic actuators offer a high power-to-weight ratio, large forces at low speeds
(both linear and rotary actuation) compatibility with microprocessor and electronic controls,
and tolerance of extreme hazardous environments. A hydraulic system generally consists of
the following parts:

• Hydraulic linear or rotary cylinders and RAMs:

Provide the force or torque needed to move the joints and are controlled by the servo
valves or manual valves.

• A hydraulic Pump:
It is a high pressure pump that provides high-pressure fluid to the system

• Electric (or others such as diesel engine) Motor:

It operates the hydraulic pump

• Cooling System:
It removes of the heat generated in the system. In some systems, in addition to
cooling fans, radiations and cooled air are used.
 • Reservoir:
It keeps the fluid supply available to the system.

• Servo valve:
It is a very sensitive valve that controls the amount and the rate of fluid to the
cylinder. Safety check valves, holding valves, and other safety valves throughout
the system.

• Connecting Hoses:
They are used to transport the pressurized fluid to the cylinders and back to the
reservoir.

• Sensors:
They are used to control the motion of the cylinders. They include position,
velocity magnetic, touch and other sensors.

Pneumatic Devices:

Pneumatic devices are principally very similar to hydraulic systems. A source of

pressurized air is used to power and drive linear or rotary cylinders, controlled by manual or
electrically controlled solenoid valves. Since the source of pressurized air is separate from the
moving actuators, these systems have lower inertial loads. However, since pneumatic device
operate at a much lower air pressure, usually up to 100-120 psi, their power-to-weight ratio is
much lower than hydraulic systems.

The major problem with pneumatic device is that air is compressible, and thus it
compresses and deforms under load. As a result, pneumatic cylinders are usually only used
for insertion purposes, where the actuators is all the way forward or all the way backward, or
they are used with ½ degree-of-freedom joints that are fully on or fully off. Otherwise,
controlling the exact position of pneumatic cylinders is very difficult.

Comparison of Actuating Systems:

Hydraulic Electric Pneumatic

+ Good for large robots and + Good for all size of + Many components are
heavy payload Robots usually off-the-shelf

+Highest Power/Weight +Better control, good for +Reliable components.

Ratio high precision robots

+Stiff system, High +Higher Compliance that +No leaks or sparks

accuracy, better response Hydraulics

+No reduction gear needed +Reduction gears used +Inexpensive and simple
reduce inertia on the motor

+Can work in wide range of +does not leak, good for +Low pressure compared to
speeds without difficulty clean room hydraulics

+Can be left in position +Reliable, low maintenance + Good for on-off

without any damage applications and for pick
and place

Hydraulic Electric Pneumatic

- May leak. Not fit for clean +Can be spark-free. Good +Complaint systems.
room application for explosive environment.

-Requires pump, reservoir, -Low stiffness -Noisy systems.

motor, hoses etc.

-Can be expensive and -Needs reduction gears, - Require air pressure, filter,
noisy, requires increased backlash, cost, etc.
maintenance. weight, etc.

-Viscosity of oil changes -Motor needs braking -Difficult to control their

with temperature device when not powered. linear position
Otherwise, the arm will fail.

-Very susceptible to dirt and - -Deform under load

other foreign material in oil constantly

-Low compliance - -Very low stiffness.

Inaccurate response.

-High torque, High - -Lowest power to weight

pressure, large inertia on the ratio
actuator.
Hydraulic Actuators

A hydraulic actuator receives pressure energy and converts it to mechanical force and
motion. An actuator can be linear or rotary. A linear actuator gives force and motion outputs
in a straight line. It is more commonly called a cylinder but is also referred to as a ram,
reciprocating motor, or linear motor. A rotary actuator produces torque and rotating motion.
It is more commonly called a hydraulic motor or motor.

Cylinders: A cylinder is a hydraulic actuator that is constructed of a piston or

plunger that operates in a cylindrical housing by the action of liquid under pressure. A
cylinder housing is a tube in which a plunger (piston) operates. In a ram-type cylinder, a ram
actuates a load directly. In a piston cylinder, a piston rod is connected to a piston to actuate a
load. An end of a cylinder from which a rod or plunger protrudes is a rod end. The opposite
end is a head end. The hydraulic connections are a head-end port and a rod-end port (fluid
supply).

Fig:4.2: Double acting Cylinder

Fig : 4.1 Single acting Cylinder with plunger type
Telescopic Cylinder:

These cylinders are employed where long work strokes are required. A telescopic
cylinder provides a relatively long working stroke for an over all reduced length by using
several pistons which telescope in to each other.

Tandem Cylinder:

Here two cylinders are arranged in series so that the force obtained from cylinder is
almost doubled. Since the available force is doubled, this design is use full where larger
forces are required.
Feedback Components:

 Position & Velocity sensors are used in robotics as feedback devices; Position sensors
provide the necessary means for determining whether the joints have moved to correct
linear or rotational locations in order to achieve the required position & orientation.

 The speed with which the manipulator is moved is another performance feature which
must be regulated. Robots utilize a feedback system to ensure proper speed control.

 It is important that a sophisticated control system has to be developed to fine tune the
dynamic performance of manipulator during acceleration & deceleration as it moves
between the points in work space.

Position Sensors:

Potentiometers

 Potentiometers are analog devices whose output voltage is proportional to the position
of wiper.

 Potentiometers offer a low cost method of contact displacement measurement.

 Depending upon their design, they may be used to measure either rotary or linear
motion.

 In either case, a movable slide or wiper is in contact with a resistive material or wire
winding. The slide is attached to the target object in motion.

 A DC or an AC voltage is applied to the resistive material.

 When the slide moves relative to the material, the output voltage varies linearly with
the total resistance included within the span of the slide.

 An advantage of potentiometers is that they can be used in applications with a large

travel requirement.

 It is possible to use pots to provide a limited amount of feedback control in robots

where high proportional resolution and accuracy are not required.
  Benefits:

Relatively Inexpensive

Can be used for Distance and Direction

Low software overhead – Not dependent on interrupts

Can Sense Speed and Distance

 Drawbacks:

Sample Rate issues can limit max useable Speed

Small “Dead” zone, though usually not a big problem

Resolvers:

 A resolver is a type of rotary electrical transformer used for measuring degrees of

rotation. It is an analog device whose output is proportional to the angle of rotating
element with respect to fixed element.

 The primary winding of the transformer, located on rotor shaft, is excited by a

sinusoidal electric current, which by electromagnetic induction induces current to
flow through the secondary windings located on the stator.

 The two two-phase windings, fixed at right (90°) angles to each other on the stator,
produce a sine and cosine feedback current by the same induction process.

 The relative magnitudes of the two-phase voltages are measured and used to
determine the angle of the rotor relative to the stator.

 Since a resolver is a rotary transformer we must require an AC signal for excitation. If

Dc signal is used there will be no output signal.
Encoders:

 Encoders are sensors which converts linear or angular displacement in to digital code
or pulse signals.

 Encoders are mainly classified as Linear encoder and rotary encoder.

 They are also classified as Absolute encoder and incremental encoders.

 Rotary encoders are used to measure the angular position and direction of a motor or
mechanical drive shaft.

 Linear encoders measure linear position and direction. They are often used in linear
stages or in linear motors.

 Absolute encoders provide actual position relative to a fixed reference position.

 Incremental encoders sense the position from previous position. A robot utilizing an
incremental encoder must execute a calibration sequence before position information
obtained.

 In a rotary encoder, a glass or metal disk is attached to a motor or mechanical drive

shaft. The disk has a pattern of opaque and transparent sectors known as a code track.

 A light source is placed on one side of the disk and a photo detector is placed on the
other side.

 As the disk rotates with the motor shaft, the code track interrupts the light emitted
onto the photo detector, generating a digital signal output.
 The number of opaque/transparent sector pairs, also known as line pairs, on the code
track corresponds to the number of cycles the encoder will output per revolution. The
number of cycles per revolution (CPR) defines the base resolution of the encoder.

 An absolute encoder consists of the disk which has multiple concentric code tracks
and a separate photo detector is used with each code track. The number of code tracks
is equivalent to the binary resolution of the encoder., as shown in fig 12.4.

 An 8-bit absolute encoder has eight code tracks. The 8-bit output is read to form an 8-
bitword indicating absolute position.

 While absolute encoders are available in a wide variety of resolutions, 8-, 10-, and 12-
bit binary are the most common.

 Due to their complexity, absolute encoders are typically more expensive than
incremental encoders. Absolute encoders may output position in either parallel or
serial format.
 An incremental rotary encoder, also known as a quadrature encoder or a relative
rotary encoder, has two outputs called quadrature outputs.

 Incremental encoders are used to track motion and can be used to determine position
and velocity. This can be either linear or rotary motion. Because the direction can be
determined, very accurate measurements can be made.

 They employ two outputs called A & B which are called quadrature outputs as they
are 90 degrees out of phase.

 The two output wave forms are 90 degrees out of phase, which is all that the
quadrature term means. These signals are decoded to produce a count up pulse or a
count down pulse and tables are used to decode the direction.

 For example if the last value was 00 and the current value is 01, the device has moved
one half step in the clockwise direction.
 Velocity Sensors:

Tachometers:

 A tachometer (also called a revolution-counter, rev-counter, or RPM gauge) is an

instrument that measures the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other
machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a
calibrated analogue dial, but digital displays are increasingly common.

 Tachometers can be divided in to

1. DC (Digital)tachometer

2. AC (analog) tachometer

In robotics mostly DC tachometer is used.

 • A tachometer is essentially DC generator providing an output voltage proportional to
the angular velocity of the armature

• The rotor is directly connected to the rotating object.

• The output signal that is induced at the rotating coil is picked up using a commutator
device (consists of low resistance carbon brushes)

• Commutator is stationary but makes contact with the split slip rings

Permanent Magnet AC Tachometer:

• When the rotor is stationary or moving in a quasi-static manner the output voltage will
be constant

• As the rotor moves, an additional voltage, proportional to the speed of the rotor will
be induced

• The output is an amplitude modulated signal proportional to the rotor speed and
demodulation is necessary

• Direction is obtained from the phase angle

• Due to commutator in DC tachometers a slight ripples will appear in output voltage

which can not be filtered out, this can overcome by using AC tachometer

• For low frequency applications (~5Hz), supply with 60Hz is adequate

• Sensitivity is in the range 50 – 100mV/rad/s