What Is an Electrical Actuator?
An electrical actuator is a drive unit that uses a motor to drive a cylinder or slider.
Since motors are used as the drive source, the electrical actuator is more responsive and efficient than pneumatic or hydraulic actuators.
Uses of Electrical Actuators
Electrical actuators are mainly used in industrial equipment. Applications are diverse, including precision positioning of moving platforms. The following is a list of applications.
- Loading and carrying applications, such as moving and transporting workpieces
- Pushing applications, such as workpiece removal and storage
- For positioning tables, arm driving, and other applications where the workpiece is loaded and turned
- Used for automation of production plants
Since the built-in servo motor provides precise motion, it is often used for machining small parts.
In recent years, sales of electrical actuators for in-vehicle use have been increasing along with the expansion of sales of electric vehicles.
Principle of Electrical Actuators
The main components of an electrical actuators are a motor, ball screw, and guide.
The motor and ball screw are connected by gears or belts, and the rotational motion of the motor is converted to linear motion by the ball screw. Position control of the linear motion can be achieved by controlling the rotation speed of the motor.
Servomotors or stepping motors are often used as the drive source motor, enabling precise positioning.
Other Information on Electrical Actuators
1. Use in the Automotive Field
In recent years, there has been a growing demand for automated driving, decarbonization, and clean energy in the automotive field. As a result, many companies are developing versatile electrical actuators.
Electrical actuators are used for clutches, shifts, brakes, levers, electric pumps, electric valves for engines, and electric throttles.
The motor shaft arrangement (coaxial series type, parallel shaft type, etc.) and size can be selected. This reduces the cost of custom development for each vehicle model.
2. Electrical Actuators Market Share
The global electrical actuators market is expected to grow to $843.86 million between 2020 and 2024. Below is the background of the market size growth.
- Increasing use of electrical actuators in the widespread adoption of robots
- Growing demand for smart actuators
- Growing demand for civilian and defense aircraft
- Growing demand for automation in developing countries
- Growing need for flexible production systems utilizing robots
The market is expected to expand as new technologies, such as AI, are developed.
3. Control of Electrical Actuators
Electrical actuators are incorporated into industrial robots. Electrical actuators incorporated in industrial robots can be easily operated from a teaching box attached to the robot. The robot can be controlled by sending arbitrary instructions from the teaching box. This is expected to reduce takt time. The teaching box controls the electrical actuators using a programming language for robots. Since the robot itself and the electrical actuators can be controlled simultaneously by the program, control errors between devices can be eliminated and control accuracy can be improved.