Robotic Actuators I

Roselito E. Tolentino
Actuators
• Actuators are used in order to produce mechanical
movement in robots.
In this lecture we will present:
• Electric Motors
• DC Motor
• Servo Motor
• Stepper Motor
• Linear Motor
• Pneumatics
• Hydraulics
• Other robotic actuators
Electric Motor
• Mainly rotating but also linear ones are available

• linear movement with gear or with real linear

motor
Types of Electric Motors
Electric Motors

Special Purpose
DC Motors AC Motors
Motors
Permanent Magnet
DC (PMDC) Stepper motor
Induction Brushless DC
Series Motor Motor motor
Hysteresis motor
Shunt Motor
Synchronous Reluctance motor
Compounded Motor
Motor Universal motor

Separately Excited
motor
DC Electric Motors
• Electric Motors or Motors convert electrical energy to
mechanical motion
• Motors are powered by a source of electricity – either AC or
DC.
• DC Electric Motors use Direct Current (DC) sources of
electricity:
◦ Batteries
◦ DC Power supply
• Principle of How Motors Work:
• Electrical current flowing in a loop of wire will produce a magnetic
field across the loop.
• When this loop is surrounded by the field of another magnet, the
loop will turn, producing a force (called torque) that results in
mechanical motion.
DC-Motors
• simple, cheap
• easy to control
• 1W - 1kW
• can be overloaded
• brushes wear
• limited overloading
on high speeds
DC-motor control
• To control the direction of rotation - H-bridge
• To control the speed of rotation - PWM
• Torque is increased through gears
Operation with S1-S4
corresponding to the diagram
Power Amplifier for DC Motor
Control
Power Amplifier for DC Motor
Control
Controlling DC Motor Speed
• We do not change the supplied voltage

• The most effective way to adjust the speed is by

using Pulse Width Modulation.

• Pulse-Width Ratio = ton / tperiod

Controlling DC Motor Speed
• This means that you pulse the motor on and off at varying rates, to
simulate a voltage.
• When the time that the voltage is high (the duty cycle) is half the total
time in question, the effective voltage is about half the total voltage.

• When the duty cycle is reduced to one quarter of the total time, the
effective voltage is about one quarter of the total voltage.

•
Arduino Codes:
digitalWrite(7, LOW);
digitalWrite(8, HIGH);
analogWrite(6, Speed);

• PWM signal is approximately 490 Hz.

• the duty cycle: between 0 (always off) and 255
(always on).
Example 1:
• If Speed, current and voltage applied to a motor is
proportional, In a pulse with period of 500 Hz, how
long must a pulse be high to reduce the speed to
1/4?
Servo Motors
• DC motors equipped with a servo mechanism for
precise control of angular position.
• The servo motors usually have a rotation limit from
90° to 180°.
• Some servos also have rotation limit of 360° or
more. But servos do not rotate continually.
• Their rotation is restricted in between the fixed
angles.
Servo System
• Servo is mechanism based on feedback control.
• The controlled quantity is mechanical.
• Refers to an error sensing feedback control which is
used to correct the performance of a system
Servo Control of an Electrical
Motor
Servo Motor
Servo Motors
• Servomotors usually have three cables: power, ground
and PWM signal
• Servo require a PWM signal with 50 Hz frequency
(20ms period)
• The pulse should be between 0.5ms and 2.0ms long
(this sets servo to its extreme left or right position
• Note:
• Servo speed cannot be set ( servo tries to get to new position
as fast as possible)
• Servo do not provide feedback to the external component
Servo Motors Pulse Angle Relation
Example1:
• What is the duty cycle of the pulse to be fed to the
servomotor to make it rotate from 0 to 30 degrees
?
Example2:
• What is the angle of the servo motor if length of
the high pulse is 1.125 ms?
Arduino Code:
#include <Servo.h>
Servo myservo;
myservo.write(Angle);
Stepper Motors
• Stepper motors are another kind of motors that do
not require feedback
• A stepper motor can be incrementally driven, one
step at a time, forward or backward
Types of Stepper Motor
• Unipolar Stepper Motor
Types of Stepper Motor
• Unipolar Stepper Motor
Types of Stepper Motor
• Bipolar Stepper Motor
Stepper Motor Characteristics
• Number of steps per revolution (e.g. 200 steps per
revolution = 1.8° per step)
• Max. number of steps per second (“stepping rate” =
max speed)
• Driving a stepper motor requires a 4 step switching
sequence for full-step mode
• Stepper motors can also be driven in 8 step
switching sequence for half-step mode (higher
resolution)
Stepping Sequences
Wave Drive Stepping Sequences

Step 1a 2a 1b 2b
1st 1 0 0 0
2nd 0 1 0 0
3rd 0 0 1 0
4th 0 0 0 1
Wave Drive Stepping Sequences

Step 1a 2a 1b 2b
1st 1 0 0 0
2nd 0 1 0 0
3rd 0 0 1 0
4th 0 0 0 1
High Torque Drive Stepping
Sequences

Step 1a 2a 1b 2b
1st 1 0 0 1
2nd 1 1 0 0
3rd 0 1 1 0
4th 0 0 1 1
Half Step Drive Stepping
Sequences
Step 1a 2a 1b 2b
1st 1 0 0 1
2nd 1 0 0 0
3rd 1 1 0 0
4th 0 1 0 0
5th 0 1 1 0
6th 0 0 1 0
7th 0 0 1 1
8th 0 0 0 1
Controlling Stepper Motor Speed
• The speed of the stepper motor is proportional to
the speed of pulse signals (pulse frequency).

video
Example1:
• How many steps are needed to rotate a stepper
motor with 200 steps per revolution to 120
degrees?
Example1:
• How fast does a stepper motor (with step size of
0.72degree per steps) rotates in RPM if it will be
supplied with a 1Khz pulse?
Arduino Codes:
#include <Stepper.h>
Stepper myStepper(SPR, 8,9,10,11);
myStepper.setSpeed(Speed);
myStepper.step(steps);

• Speed is in revolution per minute

Linear Motor
• A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its
stator and rotor "unrolled" so that instead of
producing a torque (rotation)
• It produces a linear force along its length
 Basics of Linear Motors [1],[4]
• Analogous to Unrolled DC Motor

• Force (F) is generated

when the current (I) I

(along vector L) and the

flux density (B) interact
• F = LI x B
Hannes Daepp
Analysis of Linear Motors [1],[5]
• Analysis is similar to that of rotary machines
• Linear dimension and displacements replace
angular ones
• Forces replace torques
• Commutation cycle is distance between two
consecutive pole pairs instead of 360 degrees
 Downsides of Linear Motors [2]
• Cost
• Low production volume (relative to demand)
• High price of magnets
• Linear encoders (feedback) are much more expensive than rotary
encoders, cost increases with length
• Higher Bandwidth Drives and Controls
• Lower force per package size
• Heating issues
• Forcer is usually attached to load  I2R losses are directly coupled to load
• No (minimal) Friction
• No automatic brake
Components of Linear Motors [2],[3]
• Forcer (Motor Coil)
• Windings (coils) provide current (I)
• Windings are encapsulated within core
material
• Mounting Plate on top
• Usually contains sensors (hall effect
and thermal)
• Magnet Rail
• Iron Plate / Base Plate
• Rare Earth Magnets of alternating polarity
provide flux (B)
• Single or double rail
F = lI x B
Components of a “Complete” Linear
Motor System [3]
1. Motor components
2. Base/Bearings
3. Servo controller/feedback
elements
• Typical sensors include Hall Effect
(for position) and thermal sensors
4. Cable management