Friday, April 17, 2015
What’s the Difference Between Pneumatic, Hydraulic, and Electrical Actuators?
Linear Motion content from Machine Design: A linear actuator moves a load, which can be an assembly, components, or a finished product, in a straight line. It converts energy into a motion or force and can be powered by pressurized fluid or air, as well as electricity.
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3 comments:
While we see hydraulics, pneumatics, and electrical actuators almost every day in the theatrical industry, I hadn't ever really taken a look into what each of those terms actual means. While I did know that hydraulics worked off of hydraulic fluid and pneumatics were powered by compressed air, I didn't understand how those forces are created via those two individual channels. It makes more sense to understand how hydraulics use incompressible fluid to fill a chamber, which is overall a very clever design and interesting application. In addition, I had know idea that electrical actuators were so precise. I'm assuming because of the preciseness you can achieve from developing threads on a screw and the placement of the actuator itself that electrical actuators are the most precise, but I didn't realize just how precise that could be. I'm curious to know how these designs and cross sections look on a much larger scale.
I think that this article very nicely sums up the pros, cons, and differences in linear actuators. It’s really nice to know a bit about how each work, and why they are better suited for different applications. Linear actuators take care of some of the simplest forms of motions, but those are also some of the most common. Pushing or pulling a thing in a straight line seems fairly limited, but it can be applied in so many ways. There are ways to turn a linear motion into a more compound motion through the use of hinges, and so linear actuators can often be the appropriate tool even in a more complicated machine. Knowing more about the different types allow you to apply them easily. A hyperbolic example is someone who wants to do a kabuki drop. I’ve seen them done with electric linear actuators that are triggered by the lighting console. Clearly electrical is the ideal actuator in this instance, but if you go into it treating them all as the same, you won’t reap the benefits of their differences.
Huh. This is a pretty good summary of different linear actuator technology. I had never really thought about a side by side comparison of the different types of linear actuators as they related to pros on cons. One thing that wasn't mentioned that I am still unsure about is the difference in positioning at a location that is neither the upper or lower limit. I was under the impression that hydraulic linear actuators were much more readily able to move to a precise position between the two endpoints as opposed to pneumatic linear actuators which are pretty much all the way in or all the way out. I can definitely attest to how easy the pneumatic actuators are to set up though! For Rube Goldberg we used two to operate a drawbridge, and it really was as simple as plugging a couple air hoses in to make it work.
I have never really encountered electronic linear actuators, but I would be interested to see how they operate as well.
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