Actuator

How it is used

A general word in design documents and lectures; on the shop floor people usually name the actual part, such as the motor or the cylinder. Sensors and actuators often appear together: sensors are the inputs and actuators the outputs of a control system.

Example sentences

1. Each actuator on the machine is driven by its own output on the PLC.

2. We replaced the pneumatic actuator with an electric one to get better position control.

Common collocations

• linear actuator
• pneumatic actuator
• electric actuator
• sensors and actuators
• drive an actuator

Related terms

• sensorA device that detects a physical quantity or an event, such as position, distance, force, temperature or the presence of a part, and turns it into a signal a controller can read.
• servo motorAn electric motor with a built-in position sensor, usually an encoder, so that a drive can control its position, speed and torque very precisely. Robot joints are normally moved by servo motors.
• pneumatic cylinderAn actuator in which compressed air pushes a piston to produce straight-line movement, used for clamping, pushing, lifting and many other simple motions in machines.
• solenoid valveA valve that is opened or switched by an electric coil to control the flow of air or liquid. In pneumatics it sends air to one side of a cylinder or the other.
• stepper motorAn electric motor that turns in small fixed steps, often 1.8° each, so it can be positioned by counting pulses, usually without a position sensor.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

• actuator · Automotive

More terms: Sensors, Motors and Actuators

• encoder
• proximity sensor
• limit switch
• photoelectric sensor
• variable frequency drive