Actuator

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Examples and applications

• Mechanics - plasma actuators, pneumatic actuator
  Pneumatic actuator
  
  A pneumatic actuator converts energy into motion. The motion can be rotary or linear, depending on the type of actuator.Some types of pneumatic actuators include:...
  s, electric actuator
  Electric actuator
  
  Actuators are used for the automation of valves and can be found in all kinds of technical process plants: they are used in wastewater treatment plants, power plants and even refinery....
  s, motor
  Motor
  
  Motor may refer to:*An engine:**Servo motor, it uses in robots it also haveing a inbuilt rotation sensor***Electric motor, a machine that converts electricity into a mechanical motion...
  s, hydraulic cylinder
  Hydraulic cylinder
  
  A Hydraulic cylinder is a mechanical actuator that is used to give a linear force through a linear stroke. It has many applications, notably in engineering vehicles....
  s, linear actuator
  Linear actuator
  
  A linear actuator is a device that develops force and motion, from an available energy source, in a linear manner, as opposed to rotationally like an electric motor....
  s, etc.
• Human
  Human
  
  A human being, also human or man, is a member of a species of bipedalism primates in the family Hominidae . Mitochondrial DNA evidence indicates that modern humans originated in east Africa about 200,000 years ago....
   - muscles
• Biology
  Biology
  
  Biology is a branch of the natural sciences concerned with the study of living organisms and their interaction with each other and their environment ....
   - actuator domains found in P, F and V type ATPases
• In engineering
  Engineering
  
  Engineering is the discipline and profession of applying Technology and science knowledge and utilizing natural laws and physical resources in order to design and implement materials, structures, machines, devices, systems, and process that safely realize a desired objective and meet specified criteria....
  , actuators are frequently used as mechanisms to introduce motion, or to clamp an object so as to prevent motion. In electronic engineering, actuators ACTT, are a subdivision of transducer
  Transducer
  
  A transducer is a device, usually electricity, electronics, electro-mechanical, electromagnetic, photonic, or photovoltaic that converts one type of energy or physical attribute to another for various purposes including measurement or information transfer ....
  s. They are devices which transform an input signal (mainly an electrical signal) into motion
  Motion (physics)
  
  In physics, motion means a constant change in the location of a body. Change in motion is the result of applied force. Motion is typically described in terms of velocity, acceleration, Displacement , and time....
  . Specific examples include electrical motors
  Electric motor
  
  An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy, nearly always by the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors....
  , pneumatic actuators
  Pneumatic actuator
  
  A pneumatic actuator converts energy into motion. The motion can be rotary or linear, depending on the type of actuator.Some types of pneumatic actuators include:...
  , hydraulic
  Hydraulics
  
  Hydraulics is a topic of science and engineering dealing with the mechanical properties of liquids. Hydraulics is part of the more general discipline of fluid power....
   piston
  Piston
  
  A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a Cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings....
  s, relay
  Relay
  
  A relay is an electrical switch that opens and closes under the control of another electrical circuit. In the original form, the switch is operated by an magnet to open or close one or many sets of contacts....
  s, comb drive
  Comb drive
  
  Comb-drives are linear motors that utilise electrostatic forces that act between two metal combs. While comb drives built at normal human scales are extremely inefficient there is the potential to minimize them to microscopic or nanoscale devices where more common designs will not function....
  , piezoelectric
  Piezoelectricity
  
  Piezoelectricity is the ability of some materials to generate an electric potential in response to applied mechanical Stress . This may Piezoelectricity#Crystal classes of a separation of electric charge across the crystal lattice....
   actuators, thermal
  Thermal
  
  A thermal column is a column of rising air in the lower altitudes of the Earth's atmosphere. Thermals are created by the uneven heating of the Earth's surface from solar radiation, and an example of convection....
   bimorphs, digital micromirror device
  Digital micromirror device
  
  A digital micromirror device, or DMD, is an optical semiconductor that is the core of DLP projection technology, and was invented by Dr....
  s and electroactive polymers
  Electroactive polymers
  
  Electroactive Polymers or EAPs are polymers whose shape is modified when a voltage is applied to them.They can be used as actuators or sensors....
  .
• Motors are mostly used when circular motions are needed, but can also be used for linear applications by transforming circular to linear motion with a bolt and screw transducer
  Transducer
  
  A transducer is a device, usually electricity, electronics, electro-mechanical, electromagnetic, photonic, or photovoltaic that converts one type of energy or physical attribute to another for various purposes including measurement or information transfer ....
  . On the other hand, some actuators are intrinsically linear, such as piezoelectric actuators.
• In virtual instrumentation
  Virtual instrumentation
  
  Virtual instrumentation is the use of customizable software and modular measurement hardware to create user-defined measurement systems, called virtual instruments....
  , actuators and sensor
  Sensor
  
  A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated glass tube....
  s are the hardware complements of virtual instruments. Computer programs of virtual instruments use actuators to act upon real world objects.

See also

• Actuator arm
• Gripper
• Switch
  Switch
  
  In electronics, a switch is an electrical component which can break an electrical circuit, interrupting the Electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another....
  
• Telepresence
  Telepresence
  
  Telepresence refers to a set of technologies which allow a person to feel as if they were present, to give the appearance that they were present, or to have an effect, at a location other than their true location....
  
• Haptic
  Haptic
  
  Haptic technology refers to technology that interfaces to the user via the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, and/or motions to the user....
  
• Wax thermostatic elements
• Microactuator
  Microactuator
  
  A microactuator is a microscopic servomechanism that supplies and transmits a measured amount of energy for the operation of another mechanism or system....
  
• End effector