236 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications 7.1 INTRODUCTION Physically, a mechatronic system is composed of four prime components. They are sensors, actuators, controllers and mechanical components. Figure 7.1 shows a schematic diagram of a mechatronic system integrated with all the above components, From control point of view, sensor senses the signal, and actuator activates a control action. Depending upon the application requirements, sensors are chosen. The role of controller is to execute the control code for a given task. In its abstract form, a simple but exemplar control code could be as follows: “Drive the actuator when an event has occurred” ‘The above piece of control code or algorithm can be realized in a variety of ways through a broad range of microprocessors/microcontrollers and actuating systems. Control cade eT Command signal ‘componenis Sensing signal : ees woo] ||, || OS Microcontater ‘Actuator Parameter, variables ‘Actuation Vv yy ty & O & punt (Robot, Autonomous Guided vehicle, Numerical Controlled Machine, Vehicle engines, Consumer products, Conveyor systems, Assembly systems, Cranes, Defense equipments, Aircraft engines, Other machines, consumer products, etc) Fig. 7.1 | A simple sensor actuator connection Actuation is the process of conversion of energy to mechanical form, A device that accomplishes this conversion is termed actuator. Actuators play a very important role while implementing control. ‘The microcontroller provides command signal to the actuator for actuation, Various types of actuators are used depending upon the load involved. The term, ‘load’ is associated with many factors including force, torque, speed of operation, accuracy, precision and power consumption. This chapter describes the fundamentals of various types of actuators and their principle of operation. Moreover, in order to take mechanical advantage within the system, mechanisms are employed. Mechanism is the heart of every machine construction. They are responsible for transmission of237 ‘Actuators and Mechanisms power and motion from one place to another by the use of specially designed rigid bodies. These specially designed rigid bodies are called mechanical components. These include bearings, gear, cam and follower, rack and pinion, pulleys, etc. A detail description on commonly used mechanical ‘components has been provided at the latter part of the chapter. Learning the principles of mechanism, ives the students ability to understand and design complex mechanical structures. 7.2 ACTUATOR TYPES AND APPLICATION AREAS There are many types of actuators, h energy transformation takes place through multiple forms. In view of this, the actuators are broadly categorized into following groups. * Electromechanical actuators *# Fluid power actuators © Active material based actuators, Electromechanical actuators are used to efficiently convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Magnetism is the basis of their principles of operation. They use permanent magnets, electromagnets, and exploit the electromagnetic phenomenon in order to produce the actuation Electromechanical actuators are DC, AC and stepper motors. DC motors require a direct current or voltage source as the input signal, on the other hand AC motors require an alternating current or voltage source. Stepper motors ate considered as another class of electromechanical actuating devices, which also use the principle of magnetism, typically has capability of achieving precision angular rotation in both the directions and are commonly employed to accommodate di technology, competently. The motor move in accurate angular increments knows as step to the application of digital pulses. Hydraulic and pneumatic actuators are under fluid power actuators. Fluid power refers to energy that is transmitted via a fluid under pressure. With hydraulics, the fluid is typically a liquid such as oil or water. With pneumatics, the fluid is compressed air. Inert gases are also used. When a pressure applied to a confined chamber containing a piston, the piston will exert a force causing a motion. The piston will move if the difference in force across the piston is larger than the total load plus frictional forces. The resulting net force can then accelerate the load proportionately. Materials, which undergo some sort of transformations through physical interactions, are referred to as active materials. The principle of operation (actuation) of these actuators is based on the fact that they make use of properties of the material from which they have been constructed. Currently available active materials are piezoelectric material, shape-memory alloys, magnetostrictive materials, electrorheological fluids, etc. Piezoelectric actuators use piezoelectric materials. Application of a voltage to a piezoelectric material causes a small motion. Shape-memory alloys like nitinol react to heat. The actuator built with shape-memory material is called memory metal actuator. Terfenol-D, which has the composition Tb0.3Dy0.7Fe2, is an example of an active material, a substance that changes its shape when it is subjected to magnetic field. As material researchers have focused on improving the performance of the different families of active materials during the past few years, engineers have been developing ways to use them in designing practical actuating devices. Active material-based actuators are sometimes referred to as microactuators. The development on microactuating systems are relatively new, but the potential applications of such devices are taking response238 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications momentum, Some application areas are: © Aerospace structure monitoring systems Automotive monitoring and control devices Fluid control devices Biomedical equipment Precision optical components manufacturing and handling Precision manufacturing and process-monitoring equipments Microassembly 7.3 ELE CTROMECHANICAL ACTUATORS Electromechanical actuator converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. The fundamental principle of operation of such actuators comes form the fact that when an electric current is passed through a group of wire loops placed in a magnetic field, the loop rotates, and the rotating motion is transmitied to a shaft, providing useful mechanical work. Although the weight of such actuators is higher as compared to their counterparts, they are rugged and highly flexible in operation. Electromechanical actuators have been the preferred choice for angular as well as linear motion. ‘They provide linear motion through auxiliary mechanical components such as bearing, gear, and pulley, among others. Industrial application areas include robotics, machine tools, petrochemicals, paper mills, steel mills, automotive applications, elevators, air compressors, conveyors, presses and shears, just to name a few. Besides industrial control applications, the electromagnetic actuators in their basic form, simply called motors, are also used in many consumer products. Some of the products which use electric motors are: © Washer © Dryer © Spindle © Screwdriver © Vacuum cleaner © Solar shell © Electric toothbrush © Electric saw © CDplayer © Electric drill © Furnace blower © Mixer © Fan © Hair dryer © Electric razor © Starter motor © Radio antennas © Automatic door © Disk drive © Tape deck © Toys © VCR and so on. Electromechanical actuators are the workhorse of the industry. There are several types, each with its own unique features and benefits. They are available in different ratings ranging from nanowats to megawatts as far as output power is concerned. Some actuators run at a constant speed. Some have relatively small drop in speed as the load increases and some have a large speed decline with load Further, some actuators are designed to provide high starting torque such as in cranes and elevators, and others can be stepped through accurate short motions such as in computer drives. The principle mn of primarily three types of actuators such as AC, DC and stepper motor are depicted 7.4 DC MOTOR DC motor is the most versatile actuator and sometimes called rotating machine. The DC motor has ‘two parts, stator and rotor. The stator is the outer part of the motor which contains evenly spaced magnetic poles as shown in the Fig. 7.2.239 ‘Actuators and Mechanisms Magnetic poles @ Fig. 7.2 | Schematic diagram of permanent magnet DC Motor The stator is fixed. The rotor, on the other hand, rotates inside the stator. It consists of an electromagnet with the poles (a magnet has two poles) facing toward the stator poles. The electromagnet is formed by current carrying conductors (usually copper wire), which are wound around the iron core (rotor). Collectively, the wounded wire is called armature coil or armature winding. If more than one electromagnet is needed the cylindrical rotor is symmetrically partitioned into segments to accommodate more number of wounds or windings. In fact, many rotors are designed to have more one electromagnet, When a DC current is applied to the armature windings, the rotor is immediately turned into a group of electromagnet. The current that passes through the rotor winding is called armature current. The objective is to make the rotor rotate. This is achieved by placing the armature winding in a magnetic field. The magnetic field is usually established by the use of another magnet, which is a part of stator. A force is exerted on the current carrying conductor ‘when it is in a magnetic field. The magnetic field and armature current are always perpendicular to cach other. The interaction between the current-carrying armature windings and the electromagnetic field of the stator produces a force called Lorentz force that makes it possible to rotate the rotor. In summary, the direction of armature current, the direction of magnetic field and particularly the construction of the whole stator-rotor assembly are such, based on governing fundamental law, that the force exerted on the coil makes it possible the rotor to rotate. The force exerted is given by, F=11B ay Where, [, is armature current, B is magnetic field and L is the length of the conductor coil Depending upon the rotor’s physical characteristics and other load related design parameters, such ional inertia, torque, speed, etc. the number of magnets to be put into place varies. Moreover, the design parameters entail whether to design a permanent magnet type or electromagnet type stator. DC motors are classified according to the way the magnetic field is established. ‘The stator field is established by either permanent magnets or by an electromagnet. Taking into account of this, two types of DC motors are seen. They are: © Permanent magnet type DC motors # Electromagnet type DC motor or wound-field DC motor Permanent magnet type motors have permanent magnet (s) in the stator. While small motors require Jow amount of torque, large motors employed in many heavy-duty applications such as traction,240 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications electric trolleys, locomotives, mills etc., require large torque. In the latter case, the electric field is established by electromagnets. Practically two windings are there within the electromagnetic type motor system, namely, stator winding (8) and rotor winding (s). In some literature the stator winding (s) is called field coil or field winding. The current through the field coil is called field current. Stator winding (s) develop electromagnet (s) which in turn establish the magnetic field. Rotor winding (s) develop electromagnet (3) which in turn rotates itself. The field winding (s) and armature winding (8) are connected in a number of ways, leading to different types of electromagnet type DC motors. When the field and armature windings are totally separated, the type of configuration is called separately-excited field-wound DC motor. The current flows into the two windings from separate external sources. Conversely, if the field and armature currents are provided by the same external source, then the configuration is called sel/-excited wound-field DC motors. The self-excited DC motors based actuators are of two types, shunt motor and series motor. In self-excited wound-field shunt motor, the field and armature windings are in parallel, where as in self- excited wound-field series motor, both the windings are connected in series. Figure 7.3 shows different types of DC motor configurations. a Magnet ftd ~ * Vis Input DC supply votage y= Armature curent is Feld curent REZ Resstance of amature col (roto winding) , ‘= Resistance of field col (oto winding) ® Evan Back electromagnetic {oreo protced by ‘armatire winging Vn “AAT Yn = O) ° | Fig. 7.3 | (a)Separately excited electromagnetic DC motor (b)Self-excited wound field shunt configuration (c)Self-excited w ound-field series configuration241 Actuators and Mechanisms The series motor has greater torque capabilities while the shunt motor has more constant and controllable speed over various loads. These two desirable characteristics can be incorporated in the same motor by placing both a series field and shunt field winding on the same pole. This in turn termed as compound motor. Such motor responds better to heavy load changes because of the increased current through the series field coils. This improves the field strength, providing added torque and speed. A DC motor converts the electrical energy to mechanical energy. The torque is produced due to input current. In reverse situation, the torque, which is equivalent to mechanical energy, can produce current that is equivalent to electrical energy. This reverse process is utilized for the design of DC ‘generator. Figure 7.4 illustrates schematic diagram of typical DC motor and DC generator. Electrical \) Energy transducer \\. Mechanical cenergyiPower » Rasen > eergyPower Seltexcited field energy Mechanical nergy transducer Electrical enoroyrPoner | /| — Generator) 7) eeraylPower Fig. 7.4 | Mororand Generator mode of rotary device DC motors are rarely used in common applications because available signals are mostly AC in nature. However, in many heavy-duty applications such as traction motors, electric trolleys, locomotives, mills ete. DC motors are chosen due to torque requirement and their inherent nature of being controlled efficiently. The speed and torque can easily be varied. This basically means that the motor can develop accurate torque at different speeds. The speed of the motor is controlled through what are being called as © Armature controlled © Shunt controlled Basic principle of operation remaining same, the DC motors can also be categorized under whether itis brushed, brushless or coreless type242 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications 7.4.1 Brushed DC Motor Besides stator and rotor, other two important parts of a DC motor are brush and commutator. Brush and commutator work together in order to achieve continuous motion of the rotor. When current is passed through the armature winding, it develops a group of electromagnets whose poles are attracted by the opposite poles of the stator poles. Among the group, consider a single electromagnet. Assume that only one field magnet (two poles) is present. The poles of this electromagnet will be attracted by the opposite poles of the stator poles (Fig. 7.5 (a)) and by virtue of which the rotor electromagnet, (Coil) would make a motion and then stop in the position as shown in the Fig. 7.5 (b). That is, once the magnetic lines of forces of the two electromagnets (stator and the rotor) becomes parallel and ‘opposite shown in the Fig. 7.5 (b), no further motion of the rotor would occur. However, key to a DC motor is that the moment the rotor electromagnet align, its field flips, ie., the direction of flow of current through the coil is deliberately altered (Fig. 7.5 (©)). The alteration of current causes the poles of the rotor electromagnet to alter. Notice that prior to the flipping the pole of the rotor electromagnet and the pole of stator electromagnet were not similar. In this particular example they were north pole and south pole respectively (right hand side of the Fig. 7.5 (b)) and just after flipping the poles of the two electromagnets become similar. The alteration allows the rotor electromagnet to continue its motion since the same pole will now repel each other. Ifthe field of the rotor electromagnet flipped at just the right moment at the end of each alignment, the rotor would rotate freely. Current in the armature coil is switched or altered by means of commutator and brushes. The commutator, a split-ring device in conjunction with the brushes reverses the current to keep the torque tuning the coil in the same direction. A typical situation in this context is shown in the Fig. 7.5. In the figure the conductors on the left side exert force upward and conductors on the right exert force downward. The position of the windings relative (0 the stator magnets changes due to the movement. When a conductor on the left side goes to the right side, a particular coil segment would contact the next brush of the commutator to continue rotational motion in the same direction. As the conductor/armature rotates, each commutator segment comes in contact with a positive brush for an instant and becomes positive during that time. The commutator segment meets a brush that is connected to the negative terminal and it becomes negative during that time. As the armature continues to rotate, each commutator segment becomes alternately powered by positive and then negative voltage. This is considered to be a simplified description for understanding. However, the brush- commutator design is relatively complex in structure. The armature assembly containing a core, winding, commutator and brush, provides a mean by ‘which current carrying conductors can be moved through the air gap in between the stator and rotor. Motor armatures are usually built using stacks of laminations instead of building in a single core. gle core based armature design is not preferred because of eddy current loss. Eddy current is the current that flows within the core. The loss due to eddy current is called core loss. Laminating the armature core can significantly reduce eddy current, Normally, stacked steel laminations are preferred, ‘The commutator is attached to the end of the lamination stack, and the coil ends are attached to the brushes.243 ‘Actuators and Mechanisms ‘Commutator © © (Current Commutator 1, =" Conductor (co) © Fig. 7.5 | (a) The rotor electromagnet at an instant (b)The rotor electromagnet before the rotor current flips (c)The rotor electromagnet after the rotor current flips (4)A simple brushed DC motor illustration (e)Commutator-brush arrangement 7.4.2 Brushless ‘A brushless motor operates much in the same way as a brushed motor. In a brushed motor, the current is supplied to the rotating coil by a mechanical commutator (split-ring) and brush arrangement. In a brushless motor, on the other hand the commutation is achieved electronically. The electronic ‘commutator can reverse the external connections at a high rate. The commutator and brushes are in contact and during rotation both the elements rub against each other. The brushless DC motor is a better construction because the commutation is achieved using electronic circuit that overcomes the244 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications problem of wearing arising out of physical contact. A brushless motor is often used when high reliability, long life and high speeds are required 7.4.3 Coreless Iron core construction has several major disadvantages. The core has relatively high inertia that limits acceleration. They also own electrical inductances and core losses, which stay even with laminated structure. To overcome these drawbacks many motors are designed without a core. These types of motors are called coreless motors. Coreless motors depend upon the winding itself to provide structural integrity for the armature. 7.5 AC MOTORS AC motors consume alternating electrical power to produce mechanical actuation in terms of angular movement. The principle of operation for all AC motors relies on the interaction of a revolving magnetic field created in the stator by AC current, with an opposing magnetic field at the rotor. The ‘opposing magnetic field is originated by virtue of induction or by supplying an armature current by a separate DC current source. The principle of operation of AC motor in relation to the origin of ‘opposing field differs. Accordingly, AC motors are of two types. These are: @ Induction motor # Synchronous motor AC motors are either single phase or multiphase, depending upon the input signal requirement and internal construction. 7.5.1 Induction Motors The interaction of magnetic fields of the rotor and the stator makes the induction motor to rotate. The stator windings are connected to the power supply, which could be one or multi-phase type. For example, a single-phase induction motors is connected to the single-phase power line and 3-phase induction motors to the 3-phase power line, respectively, When an alternating voltage across the stator windings is applied, a radial rotating magnetic field is, produced. The rotor has conductive loop (conductor coil) along its periphery. The rotating magnetic fields produced by the stator induce a current into the conductive loops of the rotor. Once that ‘occurs, the magnetic field causes forces to act on the current carrying conductors, which results in 4 torque on the rotor. The relationship between the velocity of the rotating magnetic field of the stator and the frequency of the input power signal is given by, f r9L 1.2) 0s (7.2) Where, v is the velocity, fis the frequency of the signal and P is the number of poles. As soon as the input signal is applied, the rotor starts rotating. However, because of inertia, the rotor lags behind the rotating magnetic field and it does not get locked with the velocity of the magnetic field throughout the motion, As a result slip occurs. Slip measures the amount of lagging factor of the rotor with respect {0 the rotating magnetic field. The slip increases proportionally with load, thus if accurate velocity profiles are desired closed loop controlled induction motor systems must be employed.245 Actuators and Mechanisms AC motors differs in aspects, such as their winding types and number of phases. Accordingly, a variety of different types of induction motors such as poly pole, split phase, capacitor start, split capacitor type, two phase, three phase (star or delta) are seen, 7.5.2. Synchronous Motors The synchronous motor is a 3-phase system in which the magnets are mounted on the rotor and are excited by DC current, The stator winding is divided into three parts, which are fed with 3-phase AC current respectively. Because of the nature of connection, the magnetic field rotates at a constant speed that is determined by the frequency of the current in the AC signal. The variation of the three "waves of current input to the stator winding causes a varying magnetic interaction with the poles of the magnets of the rotor. This, in tum, causes the rotor to rotate. Typical characteristics of synchronous motors can be attributable to as follows. They: © Run at constant speed fixed by frequency of the input power signal # Require DC current for excitation # Have low starting torque ‘The main difference between the synchronous motor and the induction motor is that the rotor of the synchronous motor moves at the same speed as the rotating magnetic field imposed by the stator winding. It is feasible due to the existence of own magnetic field of the rotor. The rotor either has permanent magnets or DC excited currents, which are forced to lock into a certain position when reacted with the stator magnetic field. The locking phenomenon leads to overcome the situation of slipping and solve the problems of speed variation with varying loads as is seen in the case of induction motor. These motors are used particularly on large power systems because of their inherent ability to improve the power factor of the system. Equation 7.2 can also be used for synchronous motor in order to find the relationship between the velocity and frequency of the magnetic field and the input voltage signal. The synchronous motor cannot be started as such, Another means of starting has to be built into the motor. This is why synchronous motors are only sclected for applications with relatively infrequent starts. 7.5.3 Stepper Motor Many applications require precise positioning control. Traditionally this has been achieved by the use of small DC motors. However, small DC motors have very gradual acceleration and deceleration providing low stabilization property. Gearing mechanisms can help to reduce this problem to some extent. But overshoot still persists deviating the reachability, which means that desired position control cannot be achieved. The only way to effectively use a DC motor for precise positioning is to apply servomechanism, a control realization principle based on feedback rule (See Chapter 12). Furthermore, DC motors are not efficient for producing high torque at relatively low speeds. ‘The alternative is the stepper motor. The stepper motor also consists of a rotor and stator. As the name suggests, the stepper motor steps a bit at a time. The motor can be controlled using a246 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications microcontroller as it can responds to digital pulse trains. The rotor of the motor rotates a specified number of degrees by each pulse the motor receives from its controller. The motion caused by one pulse is called one step. The rotor is considered as a multi-pole magnet. The stator has many poles and corresponding windings. When the stator is excited with magnetic field, the rotor tends to re-align with a position with respect to active stator poles. The electromagnetic multi-polarity behavior is ascertained through two design methods leading to two basic types of stepper motors, which are: © Variable reluctance (VR) # Permanent magnet (PM) Variable reluctance (VR) stepper motors are of two types, such as single stack or multi-stack. The term phase is an important term, which basically implies the number of windings of the stator. Stator phases and rotor poles are wound properly. The variable reluctance type stepper motor shown in the Fig. 7.6 has four phases and two poles. No windings have been shown for clarity. When individual stator phases is magnetized in sequence or in terms of switching the polarity, the rotor is made to move. Fig. 7.6 | A schematic diagram of a stepper motor ‘The principle of operation of VR stepper motor is illustrated in the Fig. 7.7. In the first position (Fig. 7.7 (a)), the rotor tends to orient with the N-S axis of the stator. The south pole of the rotor is, attracted towards the north pole of the stator field. When the stator phases are switched to a different polarity, the rotor rotates 90° to align with this new N-S axis of the stator (Fig. 7.7 (b)). There are only four possible positions (Fig. 7.7 (a-d)) of the rotor when all the phases are excited. In this typical case, the step size is 90°. In order to have better precision, the number of step size can be increased by building more ‘number of poles, phases and introducing proper control connections within the stator circuits. For247 ‘Actuators and Mechanisms Fig. 7.7| Stepping the rotor example, in order to get a step size of 45°, the control scheme as shown in Fig. 7.8 may be introduced with the same construction. Multi-stack variable reluctance type stepper motor involves further enhancement of resolution, step size. The motor consists of a series of stacks, each with its own phase winding ‘The permanent magnet (PM) stepper motors have stators similar to VR motors. The rotors are made up of a permanent magnets. A comparison of variable and permanent magnet type stepper motor is given in Table 7.1248 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications Co) © © ® © o @ An alternative control scheme forthe same construction;45 degree step size Table 7.1 Comparison between VR and PM type stepper motor Variable reluctance type Permanent magnet pe ~ Step size relatively larger ~ Step size small ‘¢ Smaller rotor mass; more responsive ‘* More sluggish ‘ Relatively high-speed applications ‘© High precision application ‘¢ No retaining torque problem ‘* Relaining torque due to the permanent magnet section of the rotor In a generalized sense, stepper motors fit into good replacement of normal DC motors. Stepper motors can produce high torque at low speeds. They also characterize another feature of having the holding torque that is responsible to allow a stepper motor to hold its position firmly when not turning. This property is important in the applications, where the motor is forced to start and stop, while the force acting against the motor remains present. This in turn sometimes eliminates the need for a mechanical brake mechanism. The stepper motor is typically rated for a particular voltage. When compared to a standard DC motor, a stepper motor has a more complicated hardware interface. For applications not requiring precise speed or positional control, a DC brush motor has clear advantages. ‘The advantages of a stepper motor are clearer when some form of precision speed or positional control is necessary. With the assumption that the stepper motor never stalls or slips, one can accurately control both speed and positioning without a feed back mechanism. This feature is significant because the feedback mechanism may cost as much, or more, than the motor to be controlled. When positioning or speed control is necessary and the required torque and speed are within the stepper motor limits, a stepper motor may present more economical solution than a closed loop DC motor for lower torque applications. The stepper motors are very popular due to properties such as:249 Actuators and Mechanisms Precision incremental movement in steps, ie. the position is proportional to the number of input pulses sent to the motor Repeatability and precision in positioning A good accuracy of the steps is achieved for each step They are reliable as the design does not include the brushes, gearbox and backlash. The disadvantages are that they cannot be used at high speed and resonances can occur if not properly controlled. Some manufacturers design stepper motor for applications where the stepper is connected to the load through a gearbox. Note that gearboxes are the primary sources for backlash in mechanical systems. The application of stepper motors are found in printers, NC equipment, scanner, disk drives, machine tools, X-Y recorders, scientific instrumentation, and robotics. 7.6 FLUID POWER ACTUATORS Fluid power actuators are two types, differing in the way the input power is provided by air, water or oil and consequently they are either pneumatic or hydraulic. As the names imply, pneumatic actuator relates to air pressure, while hydraulic actuator refers to that use, or is driven by water or oil 7.6.1 Pneumatic Actuators Pneumatic actuators are the devices that causes things to move by taking the advantage of potential energy. The actuators in their conventional form are basically called pnewmo-mechanical devices and have been used to automate industrial tasks of simple but iterative nature. The actuator has three components; cylinder, piston and valve. The cylinder is a hollow chamber into which the external compressed air is allowed to enter So as to enable the piston to move. The air enters through a hole usually called port and a valve, which is considered as an actuator, controls the rate of flow of air into the chamber. The valve is a controlling element and it is an electromechanical device, which will be explained in the following section. In operation, the piston is rigidly attached to load and can slide inside the cylinder. In view of their motion, only two types of actuators such as linear and angular types, are manufactured, however, in some more generalized sense pneumatic actuators are classified according to their mechanical design Parameters such as the number of posts and the way the piston moves. ‘The linear actuators convert the potential energy in the compressed air into mechanical energy in terms of linear motion, The actuator consists of a piston and cylinder. The air enters the actuator and pushes the piston from one end of the cylinder to the other. Linear actuators are of four types. Linear single-rod single acting Linear single-rod double acting Linear double-rod double acting © Linear rodless double acting ‘The single-rod single-acting type actuator (Fig. 7.9) uses a spring force to move the piston in one direction. When pressurized air enter into the cylinder, it overcomes the force of the spring and compresses it. When the air supply is removed and the air inside the cylinder is allowed to escape (exhaust, the piston moves back. Provisions must be made to allow air to escape from the spring end lest the compressed air inside the chamber in effect would make a much stiffer spring.250 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications [osrosmuies a ‘Air vave (alr contro) Movement toes QZ ome —= The single-rod double acting actuators have one rod (piston) two ports (Fig, 7.10). Compressed air is sent to one side of the chamber and the air in the other side is allowed to escape. The piston is thus pushed to one end of the cylinder. When compressed air is allowed to enter into the other side and the first side is allowed to exhaust, then the piston is pushed back. [pressures Pressures " : Aievalvo-t (iecontoler) Aievalve2 ovement ke Fos camber Chamber 2 Loss Piston C yinder | Fig. 7.10 | Linearsingle-rod single double-acting type pneumatic actuator Linear double-rod double acting type actuator has two rods and two ports as illustrated Fig. 7.11 arvana | rvahe.2 orconste) Ls i L — [chamvert | | Chamber Fig. 7.11 | Linear double-rod double acting type pneumatic actuator Load Load251 ‘Actuators and Mechanisms ‘The basic operation of rodless actuators is similar to the standard cylinders, However, instead of an extending rod, a rodless carriage is supported by bearings within the main cylinder. This gives the rodless actuator the ability (0 guide and support load. The rodless type actuator does not have a rod (Fig. 7.12). They are usually double acting type. As the internal piston moves, it drives the external slide, Rodless cylinders have traditionally been for positioning light loads. A cross sectional view of a typical rodless cylinder is shown in the Fig. 7.12 (c). To air supply t Movement 722” SUBDHY Tasers” Cchamber-2 ® © Fig. 7.12 | Rodless pneumatic actuator Of the four actuator types mentioned above, single-rod double-acting pneumatic actuators are ‘commonly used in industrial systems requiring high pushing force. They inherited properties of having more powerful push than the pull force. The double-rod double-acting actuator has equal push and pull forces and can be used in the applications where simultancous pull and push operations are important. The rodless double-acting actuator has equal push and pull forces. Some rodless actuators ‘use magnetic coupling to eliminate the sealing problems, but are limited in force transmission capacity. 7.6.2 Valves ‘Valve is a device for closing or modifying the passage through a pipe, outlet, inlet in order to stop, allow, or control the flow of a fluid or air. In case of pneumatic actuators valves act as the controlling clement to control the flow of air into the chamber of the cylinder. The opening and closing of hole through which the compressed air passes into the chamber control the flow of air. The flow rate is proportional to the opening area of the hole. Valves can also be considered as actuators and they are electromechanical devices containing a solenoid that works on the principle of operation of LVDT (linear Variable Differential Transformer).252 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications Solenoids are electromagnets. When a current is applied through the solenoid coil, it magnetizes the core which is a part of the spool as shown in Fig. 7.13. Because of magnetization, it pushes the core against the spring, causing the hole to close or open. Depending upon the value of the current signal, the magnetization varies, thus the force and hence the displacement of the spools and in effect the flow of air. Figure 7.13 shows a solenoid valve controlling the flow of air into a pneumatic actuator. In this figure, a single valve controls the actuator. The controller could be a microprocessor, PLC (Programmable Logic Controller), PC (personal Computer) or IPC (Industrial PC). By controlling the movement of the core (spool) the air can either enter in any of the chamber causing the piston to move. Inet aie pressure Core movement Contaier Spool meme VALVE J =a a If eo Load Chamber-t Chamber2 13 | A Solenoid valve controlling the flo of air into a pneumatic actuator Valves are of many types depending upon the way they work. Some valves are normally open and some are normally closed. Normally open and normally closed valves remain open and closed until acted upon by some force. Throutling valves are those that are opened or closed incrementally, restricting flow. Some valves are used to redirect the flow. These fall under diverter types. Another way of classifying the valves is based on whether it is 2-way, 3-way or 4-way valves. Two-way valves are, in general, shut-off valves. They have only two positions, namely open or closed, and also have two ports, the inlet and outlet. Three-way valves have three ports, an inlet, an outlet and an exhaust port. They generally operate on two conditions: (i) the inlet open to the outlet with the exhaust blocked, and (ii) the inlet blocked with the outlet connected to the exhaust port. A four-way valve is actually two three-way valves operated by the same actuator. The inlet ports as well as the two exhaust ports may be joined internally to give four ports such as the inlet, two outlets and an exhaust port.253 “Actuators and Mechanisms 7.6.3 Hydraulic Actuator Principle of hydraulic actuation system is similar to pneumatic actuation system except that instead of Air, fluid such as water or oil supplies the inlet power. Although the working principle remains the same, the structural design varies. These devices utilize pressurized fluid to produce linear motion and force or rotary motion and torque. Hydraulic actuators are used in a variety of power transfer applications ‘The pressure that is transmitted when a quantity of fluid such as water, or oil, is forced through a comparatively small orifice or through a tube, operates hydraulic actuator. Based on the principle, a handful number of hydraulic actuating components are designed. They are hydraulic accumulators, hydraulic cylinders, hydraulic flow controls, hydraulic motors, hydraulic power units, hydraulic pumps, hydraulic pressure regulators, rodless hydraulic cylinders, and vacuum pressure regulators. Hydraulic actuators, mainly, are classified into four types. *# Single-acting spring return type # Double acting cylinder # Ram type ‘The single-acting cylinder is pressurized on only one end, An intemal spring is compressed by pressure on the cap end, and a rod extends. A reduction of pressure allows for the retraction of the rod by the spring. In double acting type, pressure can be applied to two ports, thereby generating power and motion in two directions. The ram type has a single fluid chamber and produces unidirectional force. These are usually found in a vertical setting, and are best suited for such applications as car lifts and other elevator-type applications. Hydraulic actuator can also be designed to provide rotary movement, These types of actuators provide torque. There are many types as far as design is concerned, but importantly rack and pinion type and gear-motor type actuators are employed in industrial applications. They are specified depending upon the angular rotation and torque involved. The rack and pinion type system uses rack and pinion mechanism whereas the gear motor uses gearing mechanisms (Discussed in the latter part of this chapter). Both types convert fluid power energy to rotary motion of a shaft (5) in order to achieve mechanical functions such as turning, positioning, steering, opening and closing, swinging, or any other involving restricted rotation. Figure 7.14 (a-b) illustrates both types of rotary actuators. 7.6.4 Comparison Pneumatic and hydraulic actuating systems are compared while looking towards the application domain and characteristic features. For a robot, most of the trade-offs favour pneumatics actuators, since pneumatic systems have low weight and leakage coefficient. The most significant difference between hydraulic and pneumatic system is compressibility, which usually signifies disadvantage. Further, the stiffness or impedance, of the pneumatic system can be controlled more easily than with counterpart. Moreover, a pneumatic system allows easy energy storage. That is, the al energy for the robot can be stored as compressed air at a high pressure. A regulator can expand the stored air to the proper working pressure.254 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications Fin 714 [ tack end pinion pe prcumatecnaar 6) Ocarmotrpacenet 7.7 PIEZOELECTRIC ACTUATORS Piezoelectric materials are called active materials. Piezoelectric actuator is an actuator that uses piezoelectric materials. The piezoelectric material undergoes a dimensional change when voltage is applied. The dimensional change is utilized to produce actuation. You have studied in Chapter 5 that the piezoelectric material can be used for sensing applications. In that case, the mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy. Piezoelectric actuator design is based on reverse principle, ie. the ‘material can be used to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. The conversion of electrical energy into mechanical motion takes place without utilizing magnetic field or moving electrical contacts (Commutator and brush), as is seen in case of electric motor based actuating systems.255 “Actuators and Mechanisms Magnetic field and moving contacts are susceptible to interference and wear respectively. ‘Commonly available piezoclectric materials are quartz, tourmaline, Rochelle salt, tc. However, the piezoelectric effect of such materials is very small. For these reasons, polycrystalline ferroelectric ‘ceramic materials such as BaTiO3 and Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) have been developed to improve the sensitivity of the actuator. ‘The important features of piezoelectric actuators are © Wide range of operation parameters (voltage, force, size), broad operating temperature range and can also be at cryogenic temperatures # High reliability, stability, resolution and fast response © Relatively high energy conversion ratio and low power consumption # No wear and tear, ic. excellent durability and little change in piezoelectric characteristics from aging effect «© Solid state, compact and light weight # Linearity, ie. displacement is proportional to applied voltage ‘These actuators are useful for many functions. The main applications are found for Nanometrology Optical device ali Micro fan and pump Linear drives Piezo hammers Gene technology Auto focus systems for positioning Holography Disk spin stands, Interferometry Robotics and micro manipulation Micro dispensing devices Tool adjustment and control Microlithography, wafer and mask positioning VCR, CD-ROM head control Critical Dimensions measurement Inspection systems and scanning microscopes Nanopositioning, microalignment and micro correction system and so on 7.7.1 An Illustration ‘An example based on piezoelectric actuator is given in this section. The Robotics Research Group at ‘Tempere University of Technology, Helsinki, developed a microtelemanipulator that facilitates remote handling of microscopic objects under computer-assisted human control. You can obtain visual information about the end-effector and micro objects using a microscope and a CCD camera. The micromanipulator can be controlled cither using a joystick or a PC keyboard. Automatic operations, such as automatic injections, can be activated using the keyboard. The actuation system consists of a piezoelectric actuator, a small tank and a bellows, as illustrated in Fig. 7.15. The bellows is a spring256 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications type of passive component. The force required to deform the bellows is directly proportional to the displacement. The piezoelectric actuator is placed in the tank filled with hydraulic oil. When a voltage is applied to the piezoactuator, it deforms. When the actuator buckles, oil flows from the tank to the bellows, which elongates. When the actuator gets straightened, oil flows from the bellows to the tank. Since the effective area of the bellows is smaller than that of the actuator, the displacement is magnified. Micromanipulators can be applied in several application areas, such as biotechnology, microsurgery, assembly and testing of micto devices. The principal applications of the micromanipulator are in the areas where needs for precise and automatic operations is desirable. (WWW Piezoelectric OAV WAV ES Blow |—Fluid Fig. 7.15 | An example of piezoelectric actuator 7.1.2, Piezoelectric Motor Piezoelectric motors, simply called piezo motors, were developed in the early eighties in response to the need for a lightweight, high-torque, and low-speed motor for many precision manufacturing applications. Piezo motor primarily consists of an electromechanical resonator and a rotor. The motor works based on the principle of conversion of a static ultrasonic wave, generated on the stator by piezoelectric elements. The resonator part of the motor itself is a stator. The stators are realized with microfabrication technologies. It has a silicon membrane having a diameter ranging from 2-5 mm, and thickness ranging from 10-50 ym. The rotor vertical legs realize the conversion. The resonator, adhering to the piezoelectric material, transfer electrical energy into small elliptical mechanical vibrations that force the rotor to rotate due to friction between tip of the resonator and rotor. Voltage excitation, tuned to the bending resonance of a piezo metal ring, produces elastic bending oscillations which travel along the surface of the ring. This traveling wave induces rotational motion in the rotor pressed against it. When excitation is stopped, the shaft is held in place by friction force. By reversing electrical excitation, the rotor turns in the opposite direction, The stator consists of a circular membrane anchored in the center and electrically connected by springs to the substrate. Piezoelectric motors have many good characteristics compared to traditional induction motors, and in general. they are characterized by a high torque at low angular velocity, high positioning precision, simple mechanical construction and it induces no magnetic fields. 7.8 MAGNETOSTRICTIVE ACTUATORS ‘Magnetostrictive actuator uses active materials like Terfenol-D. When this material is placed near a magnet, the shape changes. The effect is called magnetostriction. The magnetostrictive forces are molecular in origin for which the mechanical response is very fast.257 “Actuators and Mechanisms Moreover, magnetostrictive materials have a coupling effect like piezoelectric material, which means that a change in one state produces a change in the other. Magnetic fields produce shape ot length changes and therefore can be used as actuators, while stress changes produce magnetic changes, thus can be used as sensors. Magnetostrictive actuators can be used to build: © Active vibration control devices © Hearing aids and © Active positioners Practical devices normally require high magnetostriction and a small magnetic anisotropy. Large magnetostriction signifies large range of motion. The power produced by the actuator depends on the square of the magnetostriction. Therefore small improvements in the magnetostriction can produce large improvements as far as output is concerned. A small magnetic anisotropy means that only @ small magnetic field is necessary to produce a relatively large change in length. New advances in the processing of terbium-dysprosium have yielded a unique polycrystalline structure in the material that significantly increases its potential availability while maintaining high magnetostrictive effect. The magnetomechanical properties of the materials are dependent on temperature. Typical ranges of operations are from -280 to +600 degree Celsius. Presently, hybrid rotary motor incorporating piezoelectric and magnetostrictive actuators has been forecasted. The novelty of this motor is the creation of an electrical resonant circuit, whereby reactive power requirement on the power source is reduced. Apparently, the motor would be suitable for low ‘output speed, high torque applications. 7.9 MEMORY-METAL ACTUATOR ‘Shape Memory Alloys (SMA) are active materials, which have the ability to return to a predetermined shape when heated. The SMA, when used for the design of actuator, is operated above the transformation temperature, a temperature below which it has a very low yield strength and is susceptible to deformation. When the material is heated above the transformation temperature, however, it undergoes a change in crystal structure, which causes it to return to its original shape. ‘This phenomenon provides a unique mechanism for actuation. The commonly used shape memory ‘materials are an alloy of nickel and titanium, called Nitinol. This particular alloy has very good electrical and mechanical properties, long fatigue life, and high corrosion resistance. One must take into account the forces, displacements, temperature conditions, and cycle rates required for a particular actuator. 7.10 I1O0N-EXCHANGE POLYMER-METAL COMPOSITES ‘The research team at Artificial Muscles Research Institute, University of New Mexico, are studying the properties of Ion-exchange polymer-metal composites (IPMC). IPMC are being developed in order to design microactuators. IPMC show large deformation in the presence of low applied voltage, and exhibit low impedance. They operate best in a humid environment and can be made as self contained encapsulated actuators to operate in dry environments as well. They have been modeled as oth, capacitive and resistive element actuators, that behave like biological muscles and provide an altractive means of actuation as artificial muscles for biomechanics and biomimetics applications.258 Mechatronics: Principles, Concepts and Applications 7.11 CHEMICAL ACTUATOR Polymer hydrogels exhibit large, reversible volume changes in response to various extemal stimuli, such as temperature, solvent, and electric field. It has been verified that these gels can be used as the basis for designing an actuator. Research on gel based actuation has focused on the material itself, including studies of the mechanical properties, equilibrium volume and mechanochemical kinetics. ‘The design of a practical polymer gel actuator requires consideration not only of the material, but also the supporting mechanics, stimulation method, energy storage system, power delivery technique, packaging method, dynamic model and control system. Research team at Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT are studying the effect in terms of developing a dynamic model of a linear actuator based on polymer hydrogel. 7.12 MECHANISMS ‘The mechatronic systems are composed of basic mechanical components (Refer Fig. 7.1). The components can be classified into two groups such as passive components and active components. Passive components such as nut, bolt, washers, screws, ete., typically do not transfer mechanical power. On the other hand, the active components help to transmit power in terms of motion and torque. The active components are sometimes referred to as basic machines. These are responsible for transferring action from one place to other by means of what is known as mechanism. For instance, gears makes it possible for changing the rate of rotation of a machinery shaft. They can even change the direction of the axis of rotation and can convert rotary motion to linear one. If a mechanism puts out more force than is put in, the mechanism is said to have mechanical advantage. Mechanical advantage can be calculated by dividing the load by the effort. In general, the mechanical advantage of a mechanism is the ratio of the output and input forces and apparently is a number that is greater than unity. The rest part of this chapter describes fundaments to mechanisms in relation to active components. 7.13 BEARINGS ‘The bearing is an active component that reduces frictional losses as surfaces side past one another. ‘Technically, the function of a bearing is to reduce the friction between a fixed and a moving surface, and also to carry a load. We distinguish mainly five important types of bearings. They are, Slide bearing Plain journal bearing Rolling element bearing Magnetic bearing and Modern molecular bearing 7.13.1 Slide Bearing ‘A Slide bearing, as the name implies facilitates linear motion between a load and a support. These bearings are needed whenever one part of a machine slides against another. A sliding bearing typically uses a lubricant to reduce friction between the sliding surfaces. Figure 7.16 shows a typical illustration that uses slide bearing.