Attività

An actuator is a type of motor, typically operated by electric current, hydraulic fluid or air pressure that's widely used in the Process Industry for moving or controlling a mechanism or system.

How do actuators work?

Actuators take fluid, electric or some other source of power and convert it through a motor, piston or other devices to perform work. Basic versions are used to move Actuated Valves to either fully opened or fully closed positions. While actuators for control or position regulating valves are given a positioning signal to move to any intermediate position with a high degree of accuracy.

Actuator types

There are four main types of actuators that are a combination of the type of power applied and the type of movement required at the valve.

The newer generation of quarter-turn actuators incorporates many of the features found in the most sophisticated multi-turn actuators. They are compact, so can be used on smaller valves, and because of their lower power requirements, they can be fitted with an emergency power source such as a battery to provide failsafe operation.

Fluid power quarter-turn actuators are extremely versatile and can be used where there is no readily available electric power or where simplicity and reliability are essential. They can also withstand considerable mechanical abuse. The smallest can deliver a few inch pounds of torque where the largest are capable of producing in excess of a million inch-pounds of torque. Almost all fluid power actuators utilize a cylinder and a mechanism to covert the linear motion generated in the cylinder to a quarter-turn motion.